Revealed: The bouncer at the centre of Rod’s New Year brawl
SIR Rod Stewart’s son has blamed an ‘aggressive’ bouncer for provoking the New Year’s Eve fight with him and his rock star father.
Sean Stewart, 39, alleges that security staff member Jessie Dixon, 33, was acting aggressively when Sir Rod jumped in and struck the guard in the chest.
He said his 74-year-old father and Mr Dixon walked up to each other before the altercation at a James Bond-themed event at a luxury resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
Sean claimed he was simply ‘sticking up’ for his family.
Both Sir Rod and his son face a year in jail, the same time on probation or a £760 fine if they are found guilty of battery at a hearing in Palm Beach in February.
Speaking in Los Angeles, Sean said: ‘I’m not allowed to comment, but I will say this, my dad always taught me to stick up for my family and my loved ones. And that’s what I did. The truth will prevail. He [Mr Dixon] was being very aggressive.’
Police, who claim to have seen CCTV footage of the pair starting the fight at The Breakers Resort, described how Sir Rod and his son had confronted Mr Dixon at an event in a children’s play area and refused to leave.
Sean then pushed Mr Dixon while Sir Rod hit him as he tried to balance himself, police claimed. A police record detailed Sir Rod’s
Scottish lion tattoo, on his left shoulder, and another of a thistle on his arm, The Sun on Sunday said.
A source told the paper: ‘The altercation involving Rod was over pretty quickly. He apologised. There was no lasting damage to the security guard.’
Sean, who has been in trouble with the law before, is one of the Scots rocker’s two children with his first wife, the US actress Alana Stewart.
In September 2002 he was sentenced to 90 days in jail and ordered to go to rehab for drug abuse after pleading ‘no contest’ to attacking a man outside a Malibu restaurant.
In 2010, he was arrested for driving with a suspended licence.
He was arrested again at Miami International Airport in February 2015 after allegedly jumping on a luggage carousel and riding on the conveyor belt.
Sean was charged with unlawful entry into a restricted area and released the next day on bail.
Sir Rod has been in hot water with police before, too. In the 1960s, he was arrested three times while participating in sitins in London while supporting the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.
Both Sean and Sir Rod will appear at a hearing on February 5 on simple battery charges.
Sir Rod has always favoured his Scottish ancestry, although his parents came from both sides of the Border.
His father, Robert, was a builder in Leith, Edinburgh, but moved to Highgate, North London after meeting and marrying his wife Elsie.
Sir Rod’s great love outside music remains Celtic Football Club. He was introduced to the club’s legendary manager Jock Stein in the early 1970s by Kenny Dalglish, sparking a ‘passion that endures the decades’.
‘Dad taught me to stick up for family’