Rod Stewart Charged With Battery After New Year's Eve Scuffle

Iconic rock vocalist Rod Stewart and his son Sean have both been charged with battery after a brief altercation with a hotel security guard on New Year’s Eve. Vanessa Thorpe at The Guardian reports that the incident that prompted the scuffle had little to do with the excesses of fame and fortune; instead, Stewart was reacting to children in his family’s group being denied entry to a New Year’s Eve party at a Florida hotel.

Rolling Stone‘s article on the incident notes that “Stewart and his group attempted to enter their children into a kids’ area on the Breakers’ premise but were denied access by security guard Jessie Dixon.”

At that point, things took an ugly turn: the elder Stewart is accused of, per the police report, hitting Dixon in the chest “with a closed fist.”

“Witnesses told police that Sean Stewart then pushed Dixon while Rod punched the security guard in the ribs area,” Rolling Stone reports. Both Stewarts have been ordered to appear at the Palm Beach County Criminal Justice Complex in early February.

Rod Stewart has apologized for his behavior, but Dixon has expressed an interest in pursuing charges against both father and son. The Guardian notes that the arresting officer described the Stewarts as “primary aggressors” after looking at video footage of the incident.

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