In response to a comment made earlier by a lady in NY who suggested Christian Bales mother and sister must have 'driven him a bit bonkers' ...so 'he snapped under pressure!' Why is it a reflex action for some people to blame women when a man is violent?

Charlotte, Suffolk,

That was a Dark Knight for him then!

John, London,

Bale made bail, but he's still going to have a dark night!

Joe Dozer, Oakland, CA, USA

Yes, initially it doesn't sound good, but I am willing to bet that these women drove him a bit bonkers. Okay, so he might have snapped for a moment under immense pressure, but to go against him at this time, when he ought to be savouring the success he deserves, seems unforgiving and mean-spirited.

Carol Lazarus, New York, USA

that comment by pat bateman is absolutely hillarious!

evelyn, cleveland, US

Nice work Pat.

Probably flared up about the trivialities of Genesis and Huey Lewis & the News as well.

Marcus Halberstram, London,

I doubt this was unprovoked, there are two sides to the story, and families are complex and not always stereotypically happy. Men may be violent, BUT women often subject men to non-physical 'psycological violence'. Both are wrong.

Rob, Swansea, UK

Family rows can escalate out of control quite easily. It is always your nearest and dearest who know what buttons to push. I wonder though if he is on steroids? He is very buffed up and steroids can affect your moods, plus there is the additional pressure of Heath Ledger's untimely demise.

M, Beds,

Does anyone actually know what it is he's supposed to have done? I hope he hasn't been arrested for a mere push and shove. Can you imagine your own family calling the police on you? It'd be better to simply ex-communicate him if he's so bad. As none of us knows what happened we shouldn't judge. Yet!

Will Harris, London, UK

Bear in mind that you don't need to have actually hit anyone to be arrested for 'assault' - assault means putting someone in fear of violence. It's poor journalism to say that he was arrested for assaulting them - the legal meaning of assault is different from the common one.

Carolyn, Oxford,

He lost his temper because she reserved the wrong table for him in Dorsia apparently

Pat Bateman, New York, USA

His sister was screaming out of windows at journalists about how "sensitive" it was, denying going to the police. I can't see why anyone would be stupid enough to attempt to end their career at its highest point, but I can see why someone else would want to destroy it.

fenna, uk,

hmm, lots of opinions here perhaps we should just wait for the trial, he knows what hes doing

gary, cheam,

Yeah but he's still Batman. And he was also a Grammaton Cleric in Equilibrium.

Byakuya-sama, Madrid, Spain

No matter what, you don't assault women. You deal with it another way. I've taught this to my son who is 37 and has an anger problem. He has never hit a woman in his life. There is no excuse for this.

Elizabeth, Kansas, USA

My own brother and sister tried to have me "Committed".They exaggerated some things,and outright LIED about others.The doctors and police knew within minutes of speaking with me that THEY were LYING about me.Let the EVIDENCE come forth before you judge people!

Larry Vickery, Anderson, USA

I'm not saying this could have never happened, it can happen anyone famous or not famous. However i doubt he did is. Isn't funny the day his movie came out they said he did this? How many people on the day their movie came out would think "yep, todays the day im going to go beat up my mom and sis"

Brian, Clayton, USA

I saw American Psycho the dude is crazy man !

Francis, Vancouver, Canada

kpow, kerzap. Holy mom and sistercuffs!

Dan Green, Hong Kong,

Jeez, typical, defend the rich & famous! Violence is violence, is violence, no matter who does it and it is NOT a family matter! What an outdated excuse. Grow up & realize domestic violence is a serious problem.

Adoniel, HotSprings, USA

Why do peolpe assume because he's famous he can't have done this. It is perfectly plausible that something occured, stress and anger isn't just for the common people

L A SMITH, Kirkham, Lancashire

We as FANS shouldn't really have a say on Mr. Bale's life......we all fight with a family member at one point of our lives. I cant speak for what happens behind closed doors but i can say that I love his Performances

Marie-Alice, NYC , United States

PEOPLE!! Assume nothing! This could be ANYTHING - from a mistake to completely mistaken reporting. Even if it was a family argument, they can be extremely complex & not well understood by those outside the fold. The fact that it all seems so unlikely should probably be a hint that nothing happened.

Russell, Philadelphia, U.S.

Leave it to the police to investigate. If he has done this then he should be held accountable as it is totally unacceptable, no matter what his status. If not then the mother and sister need to be investigated also.

RK, London,

It would be a shame if such a great actor's career was damaged by something like this

Dan, Winchester, England

what a lot of expert opinion above - such a shame no one knows what happened at all.

peterh, Washington DC, USA

I would like to think that this could've been kept as "a family matter", yet Mr. Bales' mother and sister chose otherwise. If it was that pressing, why did it have to wait til' Monday to press charges?

Thomas, Bryan, Texas, United Sates

Yeah, just run to the police after you gang up on your son and try to impose your will on him and he defends himself! People really need to take a bite out of the "get a grip" cookie and quit being so damn oversensitive.

Matt Franson, Clearfield,

An early April Fool me thinks !!!!

ian payne, walsall,

Guess money and fame doesn't always bring happiness.

Andrew, Phoenix, Arizona, USA

Absolutely. I can imagine that Christian Bale was probably highly stressed and family can be exasperating at the best of times.

Heather Barnes, London, UK

I wonder if they took his DNA to add to the database...

John F, London,