Zsa Zsa Gabor was a celebrity and socialite for decades, mostly for being herself.
Photo: ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP/Getty Images
The Hollywood socialite Zsa Zsa Gabor, faced a trial on September 27, 1989 for slapping a police officer, which surprisingly ran out of the courtroom in the middle of the district attorney’s closing argument.
The prosecutor told the jury that the actress “craves media attention (…) and abused two weeks of this process for her own aggrandizement.” Although her attorney objected when the prosecutor said “the defendant does not know the meaning of the truth,” Gabor was already crying.
The Hungarian-American, was accused of slapping officer Paul Kramer during a traffic stop on June 14, she had been pulled over for expired tags on her Rolls Royce.
While Kramer checked for other violations, including having an open container of alcohol in the vehicle and an expired license, Gabor fled.
When the officer chased after her and stopped her again, Gabor slapped him, though she claimed she had only acted in self-defense because Kramer used excessive force to arrest her. She said her treatment by the police was “like Nazi Germany.”
During the trial, Gabor violated a court-imposed gag order by calling prosecution witness Amir Eslaminia, “a little punk with a hairstyle like a girl.” In a strange attempt to make amends with the witness, she told him that she spoke Turkish, to which the young man replied: “So? I am from Iran.” Gabor responded, “Well, that’s close.”
Later, that day, Gabor was found guilty and sentenced to 72 hours in jail, 120 hours of community service and $13,000 in fines and restitution.
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