Bad reviews, bad press and bad box office—these are the usual movie-star woes. But shackles and chains?
According to reports out of the United Kingdom, a Dutch TV reporter handcuffed herself to Hugh Grant at last Friday's Amsterdam premiere of Music & Lyrics, the actor's new romantic comedy costarring Drew Barrymore.
Grant was attached to the woman, identified as Cielke Sijben, for about 10 minutes, reports said. During his enslavement, the leading man kept his on-screen cool, and, per the Daily Express, continued down the red carpet, hanger-on and all.
Grant's publicist and Warner Bros., the studio behind Music & Lyrics, could not be reached for comment Monday.
Firefighters freed Grant from the woman after about 10 minutes, reports said. Although, according to the Express, Grant's half of the handcuffs remained firmly around his wrist throughout the premiere.
As for the handcuff-slapping reporter? She was said to have been taken into police custody.
According to a Dutch Website, Radiobitches, and an online translation thereof, 22-year-old Sijben joined the Danish TV network 101 last year.
There was no mention of any prior work with shackles and chains, but you know how online translators can be.
For Grant, the reported premiere-from-hell episode came about a week after the actor announced his split from Jemima Khan, his girlfriend of about three years.
Business-wise, Grant remains on firm footing.
Music & Lyrics, which opened stateside on Valentine's Day, has grossed an unspectacular $31 million in the United States, according to Box Office Mojo stats, but appears to be on its way to matching or surpassing that total overseas, where the 46-year-old Brit is an even bigger draw.
And where they like him so much, apparently, they just want to lock him up.