‘LOST’ star Matthew Fox opened about his DUI sentence in an interview set to air in the U.S. on Wednesday saying that he was happy to take part in an alcohol information program. Fox was arrested for assault after a skirmish in Cleveland and was also arrested for a DUI in 2011. Fox finally opened up about his troubled year in the interview.
The alcohol program was part of a plea deal in his DUI case. Fox was charged with two misdemeanors, driving under the influence (DUI) and driving without a license after his car was pulled over by police in Bend, Oregon in May.
Fox pleaded no contest to one count of DUI, and was ordered by the court to give up drinking for one year. He was also asked to complete a drug and alcohol treatment program. According to Fox, he had learned an “enormous amount” from the course.
In the Cleveland incident, a woman claimed that Fox hit her “in the private parts of her body”. She was driving a party bus when Fox asked for a ride but she refused. However, Fox says that is not what happened. “I was actually sucker punched in the face by a man and I retaliated against the man that sucker punched me in the face. So a fight broke out and she was a woman that was in proximity to that, and she decided that she was going to write up a different version of events that happened that night and try and extort money from me.”
In his recent interview given to Ellen DeGeneres, the show host, Fox said that he feels “terribly embarrassed” by the case.
“I got a DUI in Bend, Oregon, where I live now, very happily. I was not happy about the DUI at all. I was terribly embarrassed by that and take full responsibility for it.
“I really own that and have done every single thing the state of Oregon requires for a first-time DUI offender. I have learned a ton. I did four weeks of alcohol informational training. And just learned an enormous amount.
“One of the statistics that I learned is that 50 per cent of people that get one DUI will get another. I found that pretty astounding after what I’ve been through. I will absolutely not be in the statistic. There is just no way,” he said in the interview.
Last year has been difficult for Fox. “It’s been a very tough year for myself and my family,” he said. “It’s difficult to be accused of something that you did not do. I’ve never hit a woman in my life. Never have, never will. That’s not a part of who I am as a man and hold that very dear to how I define my character.”
Fox confirms to the DUI arrest but denies hitting the woman. Fox has since been cleared in both the criminal and civil courts.
