Todd Spodek (L) pictured with Anna Sorokin in 2019 (AP Photo/Richard Drew), Nicolas Malvagna (R) pictured as he exited out in Manhattan (CBS New York screengrab), (inset) a Bebe Rexha crew member reacts after the pop star is hit in the face by a phone (image via Twitter/screengrab)
Most people can accurately tell you that a phone is for calling or texting someone and the like, but one concertgoer allegedly confessed he threw a phone at pop star Bebe Rexha over the weekend because he thought “it would be funny.” The individual, since identified as 27-year-old Nicolas Malavagna — reported to be a luxury dog kennel worker and New Jerseyan — has now hired a well-known attorney to defend him in the assault and harassment case.
Court records show the Nicolas Malvagna appeared in New York Criminal Court and was released on his own recognizance Monday. When he exited the courthouse, CBS New York’s cameras were rolling. The defendant did not have anything to say. Instead, he walked directly towards a black SUV, where a man in a gray suit opened a door to the vehicle with a reassuring smile.
That man was Todd Spodek, an attorney famously portrayed by actor Arian Moayed in “Inventing Anna,” a Netflix series about the arrest and prosecution of “fake heiress” Anna Sorokin (a.k.a., Anna Delvey). Spodek also represented the Ghislaine Maxwell juror who claimed it was an “inadvertent mistake” when he denied being a victim of sexual abuse in a jury questionnaire.
Court records confirm that Spodek is the retained private defense attorney in Malvagna case.
Spodek briefly addressed the media gaggle outside the courthouse about what happened Sunday at Pier 17’s The Rooftop. The defense lawyer conceded that Malvagna threw the phone.
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“I think this is a common unfortunate trend that’s going on, that a lot of concertgoers do,” Spodek said. “I don’t think he had any attention whatsoever of hurting the singer.”
In court, Spodek reportedly elaborated on a TikTok trend where concert attendees throw phones on stage in the hopes that a star will catch it, take a selfie with it, and return the device.
Malvagna allegedly admitted to security after the incident that he threw the device at Rexha, and that he was “trying to see if I could hit her with the phone at the end of the show because it would be funny.”
Malvagna, of Manalapan, faces several misdemeanors, including: Assault with intent to cause physical injury, assault recklessly causing physical injury, attempted assault with intent to cause physical injury, and second-degree aggravated harassment. He’s also accused of a second-degree harassment with physical contact violation.
The defendant is currently scheduled to appear in court again on the morning of July 31.
The day after the concert, Bebe Rexha posted “I’m good ” — a reference to her hit song of the same name. She included a photo that showed exactly where the phone hit her above her eye, requiring her to get stitches.
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