Just as Alicia Vikander opened up about her “happy” and “content” life as a newlywed, nearly decade-old allegations of domestic abuse against her husband, Michael Fassbender, have resurfaced.
Fassbender, according to court filings from 2010, was accused by his then-girlfriend Sunawin “Leasi” Andrews of dragging her alongside a car and, in a separate incident, of breaking her nose, according to the Daily Beast.
Sunawin filed a restraining order in Los Angeles in 2010, while the German-Irish actor was out of the country on a film shoot in England, for alleged domestic violence committed in 2009.
Fassbender, 40, has never addressed the allegations, said the Daily Beast, and the website said his representative did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
In one incident, Andrews said Fassbender became upset after her ex-boyfriend said hello to them while they were dining at a restaurant. Andrews said that their worried dining companions followed Andrews and Fassbender in their car after they departed the restaurant.
“Michael was drinking and became angry,” Andrews wrote in the petition. “Michael was driving my car dangerously fast and screaming at me. … As we got closer to my house I put my car in stop. Got out walked around the car to pull key from ignition. Michael drove of(f) dragging me along from the car.”
Eleven days after the alleged incident, Andrews said she woke up “in a deep sweat and pain with vaginal bleeding,” and sought medical attention. “I went to the hospital and had a twisted left ankle, blown out left knee cap and a busted ovarian cyst. Lots of internal bleeding,” Andrews said in her petition.
The Daily Beast said it was unclear whether Andrews made a mistake on the date of the alleged incident, or if she sought treatment more than a week later.
The other alleged incident occurred months earlier at a film festival, most likely the Ischia Global Film & Music Fest in Ischia, Italy, according to the Daily Beast. Andrews said that Fassbender had drunk heavily the previous night, and he became violent after she tried to wake him for a scheduled appearance.
“He was sleeping in urine,” she wrote in her court filing. “I woke him and he began to be violent and threw me over a chair, breaking my nose.”
According to records, Andrews’ temporary restraining against Fassbender expired after she withdrew her petition the day before the hearing for a permanent protective order.
The Daily Beast tried to contact Andrews for its article, but she refused to comment. “You’ve got the paperwork. What more is there to say?” she said by phone.
The only ones who have commented on the allegations are Fassbender’s parents.
“Anyone who knows Michael at all knows that it’s a complete fabrication,” his mother, Adele Fassbender, previously told the Daily Mail.
“I don’t know where she is getting this story from,” Josef Fassbender had said to the Irish Sun. “Michael is the most gentle man you could ever meet.”
The alleged abuses came before Fassbender’s breakout roles in “Jane Eyre,” “Shame” and “X-Men: First Class.” He was nominated for best supporting actor Oscar for 2014’s “12 Years a Slave,” and for best actor for 2016’s “Steve Jobs.”
Fassbender and Vikander were married in a low-key, private ceremony in Ibaza, Spain, last October.
Vikander, 29, is featured on the cover story of Vogues’ March issue, in which she was asked about her marriage.
“I feel I’m more happy and content than I’ve ever been,” she said.
