Angry Nicollette Sheridan loses temper in trial cross-examination
Nicollette Sheridan was ordered to "calm down" by a Los Angeles judge on Friday (02Mar12) after becoming frustrated as she was cross-examined over a fight she had with Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry.
The star testified in her wrongful termination lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday (01Mar12), claiming the writer "hit" her "upside the head" while onset in 2008 after she asked him to write her character a funny exit line for a scene.
Sheridan complained about the incident to producers of the hit ABC
network show and she alleges that that led to her dismissal in
2009, after five years as a series regular.
She returned to the stand on Friday as Cherry's lawyer Adam Levin
questioned her account of events surrounding the altercation, and
she became visibly annoyed as he queried her use of the word "hit"
as opposed to the "slap" she had described in her sworn legal
statement submitted after the run-in.
Raising her voice, Sheridan told Levin, "Sorry, this is ridiculous
to me. I feel you are misconstruing what was done to me... I don't
know why they're different! You are such a stickler for
details!"
Her outburst prompted Judge Elizabeth Allen White to intervene,
saying, "Calm down, Ms. Sheridan."
The angry actress then admitted her lawyer had actually filled in
the official document, although she "didn't notice" the difference
in how the incident was described when she signed the
statement.
Levin moved on to quiz Sheridan over her decision to head to lunch
with a friend immediately after the fight instead of take her
complaint straight to ABC bosses.
The defense attorney also poured doubt on the actress' claim that
the fall out prompted Cherry to kill off her character Edie Britt
by reeling off a long list of other characters who had died during
the show's run.
The day in court concluded with a video montage of over 40
Desperate Housewives characters who had also met an untimely
demise.
The case continues.