English R&B singer Mark Morrison, best known for his 1996 hit song “Return of the Mack,” was arrested Saturday following an altercation at a Palm Beach, Florida, restaurant.
Morrison, 52, was charged with simple battery after he twice shoved a person inside a restaurant called Le Bar à Vin, according to a probable cause affidavit released by Palm Beach Police and obtained by Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Network.
He was released early Sunday morning on a $1,000 bond. An arraignment date has been set for April 15, according to court documents.
USA TODAY has reached out to Morrison for comment.
According to police, Morrison entered Le Bar à Vin around 6:15 p.m. and began “yelling and cursing” about an event there.
Morrison then angrily confronted a person at the restaurant and allegedly pushed that person twice in the upper body “with an open hand,” according to the affidavit. That person told police he did not consent to the contact and wanted to press charges.
Fabrizio Riillo, the restaurant’s nightlife manager, confirmed the victim’s account of the incident, telling police that Morrison entered the restaurant “in an irate manner” and continued to exchange words with the victim before allegedly pushing him twice.
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Riillo said he stepped in between both parties to separate them before asking Morrison to exit the business, according to police. He told police that the victim never touched or struck Morrison, who owns a home in Palm Beach.
Riillo told the Daily News the altercation stemmed from an incident Friday night in which Morrison brought a singer to the restaurant and repeatedly told the singer’s crew to turn up the music.
When the music got too loud, the venue’s general manager told Morrison that he could not tell the artist to raise the volume, Riillo said.
In response, “Mark Morrison came back on Saturday night looking for a fight,” Riillo said.
Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at [email protected].
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