Monique Samuels, a star of the reality TV series “The Real Housewives of Potomac,” has filed a criminal complaint against co-star Candiace Dillard Bassett, alleging that Bassett injured her with a wine glass.
Bassett previously filed a criminal complaint in which she accused Samuels of punching her and pulling her hair.
Last week, Bassett, of Oxon Hill, filed a complaint against Samuels alleging that she punched Bassett and pulled her hair at Rocklands Farm Winery in Poolesville Oct. 16. The fight, Bassett wrote in her complaint last week, happened during a filming of the show.
Samuels, of Potomac, filed the complaint against Bassett for second-degree assault Thursday in Montgomery County District Court, according to the state’s court database.
Troy Poole, one of Samuels’ attorneys, said in an interview Friday afternoon that Bassett hit Samuels in the face with a wine glass, leaving her with a bloody nose and lacerated lip. All of Samuels’ actions, Poole said, were in self-defense.
“All the events that Ms. Bassett had claimed [happened] in the initial encounter started when she [Samuels] was hit with a wine glass, and then my client defended herself,” Poole said.
Poole said Samuels disputed Bassett’s account, but he wouldn’t say specifically what parts were not true because he wasn’t “at liberty to discuss the defense strategy.”
“We believe we have the more meritorious case and I’m looking forward to our day in court,” he said.
Bassett’s complaint, also alleging second-degree assault, originally was set to be heard in district court Dec. 23, but now lists a date of Feb. 6, according to court records. No court date is listed in Samuels’ complaint.
Poole said it was possible that both complaints would be resolved in court together, but that decision is up to the state’s attorney’s office.
Bassett, reached by phone, referred all questions to her attorney, James Walker, of Atlanta.
Walker said in an interview Friday that Samuels’ complaint is false.
“Clearly, this is a strategic move with no merit. It is factless, it is without merit and it is a waste of the prosecutors’ time,” he said.
“If you are innocent, innocent people don’t file counter claims.”
Walker said he has seen video turned over by Bravo, the network that airs the show.
“When they watch it on tape, it’s gonna be pretty clear who did what,” he said.
Walker said he will seek jail time for Samuels.
“The Real Housewives of Potomac” is a reality show that follows the lives of seven women living in Potomac. It is entering its fifth season.
Dan Schere can be reached at Daniel.schere@moco360.media
