Op-Ed: The Pierre Casiraghi Incident

As you may have read over the weekend Pierre Casiraghi, who is presently third in line for the throne of the Principality of Monaco, was involved in a late-night bar brawl that got him sent to a NY area hospital, where he was treated and released for severe facial injuries.

As always, there have been numerous different stories from so-called “witnesses” who remain unnamed and it’s caused international attention because of who Pierre is and where it happened (and of course, 98% of them refer to him as Prince Pierre, which he isn’t…..).

Think about the moneymaker tabloid headline: “Prince gets into bar fight in NYC”. Real eye catching, isn’t it?

Thought so.

Sense the sarcasm.

Anyway- Two of the many stories that have gone viral now that are out go like this:
People Magazine first broke the story on Monday via their website, claiming the following information:

1. Pierre and his friends (among them Stavros Niarchos III, Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld and Diego Marroquim) were approaching Hoack's table and allegedly started a brawl.
2. Police were called by Pierre’s crowd at 2:22am after they were allegedly attacked by former club owner Adam Hock after Casiraghi and his friends allegedly walked up to their table causing a scene. 
3. They spoke to an unnamed witness that claimed: “Pierre's face looked broken, with deep cuts and blood everywhere," a witness said after the fight. "He looked like he needed plastic surgery.”

In The New York Post's version:

1. They agreed that the same unnamed witness stated:   “Pierre's face looked broken, with deep cuts and blood everywhere," a witness said after the fight. "He looked like he needed plastic surgery.”   and that both men were partying with friends at the club. 
2. That Pierre's group were being " “were being completely obnoxious,’’ insulting the models and swigging from a $500 bottle of vodka on Hock’s table. "
3. The fight started with Hock punching Pierre accross the room, and then Stavros got involved, attempting to defend Pierre. Then Hock allegedly punched out Niarchos, 26, and quickly landed blows on downtown hipsters Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld, 27, and Diego Marroquin, 33 — as the flustered models frantically tried to break it up before it got worse than it was. 
   
4. Casiraghi was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was treated and released, and Hock was charged with numerous counts of assault. 
5. Hock was arrianed in NY Courts on Monday, where he said he was the victim. “I was defending myself and others,” he said. “Why aren’t [Casiraghi and his pals] handcuffed?” While Casiraghi's clan claim the opposite. 

The (version I feel is the most accurate) Italian magazine, Iodonna reported a similar story, with a few of their own additions:

1. Instead of being with a group of his male friends, he was sitting quietly in a corner with his girlfriend, Italian model, journalist, lawyer, and Columbia graduate student, Beatrice Borromeo.
2. Instead of Pierre approaching him, Hock randomly attack Pierre for whatever reason.
3. And it also states that Pierre is planning on suing the papers that brought out false information about the incident.

Here's my take:

Like I said: I believe the last version is the most accurate. I believe that yes, Beatrice was in fact with him. Strongly. Why? Easy, because I follow her on twitter, I see what she says (NO, don't ask me for it), and so far, from Beatrice, it sounds as if Pierre was in fact the victim in the incident. The truth will come out in the courts. Until then, boys will be boys, especially when achol is involved! And Pierre won't go anywhere without a security guard! Ha.

UPDATE: 2 March 2012. Photos have been released by two different sources, both claiming to be "the real first photos since the Pierre incident". ONE is, one is not. The photo from demorgen.be (Photo) is a current photo, clearly.   The ones from The NY Daily News (Photo) are photos from either his uncle's 2011 Wedding or the Grand Prix, as the background is CLEARLY Monaco. You would not find a street in NY that looks like that. Ever.