Actor sends message of empathy to his assailant after initially failing to notice the flying kick into his back at sports gala

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Arnold Schwarzenegger has confirmed he will not be taking legal action after he was attacked at a sports event in South Africa.

Schwarzenegger, 71, responded to concerns for his wellbeing by posting a message on social media: “A lot of you have asked, but I’m not pressing charges. I hope this was a wake-up call, and [the attacker] gets his life on the right track.”

Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) Update: A lot of you have asked, but I’m not pressing charges. I hope this was a wake-up call, and he gets his life on the right track. But I’m moving on and I’d rather focus on the thousands of great athletes I met at @ArnoldSports Africa.

The actor and former governor of California was filming participants on his mobile phone at the Arnold Classic Africa sports festival in Johannesburg when a bystander launched a drop-kick at his back.

In an earlier post Schwarzenegger had said that he was initially unaware he had been kicked, and thought he had “just [been] jostled by the crowd”. His attacker was quickly subdued by security personnel.