Courtroom Shocker! Shania Twain's Alleged Stalker Disrupts Singer's Testimony

Giovanni Palumbo, charged with criminal harassment and violating a protective court order, interrupts Grammy winner's testimony to announce he wants to change his plea to guilty

By Drusilla Moorhouse Sep 29, 2011 10:02 PMTags
Shania TwainJason Merritt/Getty Images

A courtroom was stunned today during a celebrity trial—but this time it didn't concern Michael Jackson.

Shania Twain's accused stalker, Giovanni Palumbo, disrupted the criminal proceedings against him by changing his plea to guilty.

So why did it cause such a fracas?

Standing up and interrupting Twain's live video testimony in the Toronto courtroom, the defendant shouted, "Eileen [the singer's real name], you can trust me. I am going to plead guilty."

"I've been offended too much, your honor," the Ottawa former surgeon added, addressing the judge.

Palumbo, 51, who has a history of mental illness, was arrested in March at the Juno Awards in Toronto, where Shain was being inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. After being discovered in the audience, he was charged with criminal harassment and violating a court order to stay 500 meters away from the singer.

Before Palumbo's outburst, Twain had testified that she was "disturbed" by the doctor's obsessive behavior, including a series of "very uncomfortable and personal" letters and visits to her home and brother-in-law's workplace. At one point, Twain said, said, she hired 24-hour security after the doctor was spotted repeatedly sitting in his parked car near her Ontario cottage.

Despite the Palumbo's apparent change of plea, the trial resumed after the outburst and is scheduled to continue tomorrow morning.