Richard Gere’s Kiss, Hugh Grant’s Beans Could Land Both In Legal Hot Water

A kiss is just a kiss, unless the offending buss involves Hollywood actor Richard Gere.

Gere is the subject of arrest warrants in India after a resident in the city of Jaipur filed a complaint about his public display of affection for Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty.

The two shared a platonic embrace at a public function, which the complainant called “an obscene act” that offended local sensibilities, reports said.

Judge Dinesh Gupta issued the arrest warrants after subpoenaing footage of the event last week.

It’s unclear what punishment Gere might face, if any. He’s since left India but is a frequent visitor to the conservative country as a promoter of health issues and a supporter of the Dalai Lama, whose headquarters is in the Indian town of Dharmsala.

A public obscenity conviction in India could carry punishment of up to three months in jail, a fine, or both.

For her part, Shetty feels the affectionate gesture from the 57-year-old Pretty Woman star was not offensive.

“I understand this is his culture, not ours. But this was not such a big thing or so obscene for people to overreact in such manner,” she said last week, adding that the commotion was taking away from the reason Gere was there – to promote HIV and AIDS awareness.

“I understand people’s sentiments, but I don’t want a foreigner to take bad memories from here.”

Shetty is famous in part for her win on a Celebrity Big Brother reality show competition.

Meanwhile, British star Hugh Grant is in some trouble of his own. Not for a kiss, but for a can of baked beans that he allegedly threw at a photographer in London.

The Metropolitan Police, which doesn’t name its suspects, said a 46-year-old man had been arrested Wednesday on suspicion of assault. He was subsequently released on bail without charges being laid.

Grant’s spokespersons weren’t commenting, but photographer Ian Whittaker claimed in an interview with the Daily Star tabloid that the actor had kicked him and yelled at him before launching the beans in his direction. The publication ran photos that showed Grant apparently holding a plastic container over his head.

The British actor is known for his roles in Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones’s Diary, and About A Boy.

 

Image Credit: STRDEL/AFP/Getty Images

 

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