We’ve all been there. You’re minding your own business, doing your thing, maybe even enjoying a drink or two, when all of a sudden, out of nowhere, someone hits you on the back of the head with a baseball bat or a pool cue. Your brains spill out onto the pavement, and you can’t help but wonder, “What’s going on?”
It doesn’t have to be a violent episode for you to ask that question. Maybe you walked into the wrong bar, or it was during a comedy show where someone shouted out a bad joke. Maybe you just finished watching a really intense movie, and when the final credits rolled, you found yourself trapped in a dark room with a bunch of angry people and heavy furniture. Whatever the case may be, when the lights finally go up, you’ll wish you would’ve asked “What’s going on?” and taken a step back. But by then, it might be too late.
These are the questions that plague your every waking moment after you’ve seen a loved one get victimized by a maniac. But what happens when the person you love the most is the one who gets hit with the bat? What are you supposed to do when you’ve seen the one you love the most get brutally attacked?
That’s what happened to Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson when a mentally unstable man shot them both in the head in 2016. At least, that’s what the tabloids would have you believe. After the shooting, the couple went their separate ways. They’ve since resumed their film projects, but the wounds from that fateful day still haven’t healed. In fact, they’re still festering, and not in a good way.
The Aftermath
On the evening of August 24, 2016, Stewart and Pattinson were filming a scene for Pattinson’s upcoming movie in New York City. The scene was for a romantic comedy where Stewart plays a fantasy sports junkie who desperately wants to prove she can become the world’s best ping pong player. In the movie, she plays opposite Martin Freeman, who she often works with on-screen and in real life.
The night they were shooting, a van pulled up to the curb in front of their building. Four men got out and approached the driver’s side of the vehicle. One of the men then pulled a gun and pointed it at the head of the driver. The other three men entered the vehicle and, according to the police, sped off with it. It wasn’t long before authorities identified the armed kidnappers as Floyd Dent, Walter Hamilton, Larry Pine, and John Russell. Investigators later discovered that they were on a violent rampage, kidnapping and murdering anyone associated with the film industry. On June 6, 2017, Hamilton pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter and admitted to participating in the murders of Stewart and Pattinson. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
When the sentence was announced, Stewart’s publicist released a statement through the agency, “We are obviously devastated by this news and have asked for privacy as we work through our feelings. We want to thank the family, friends, and fans who have sent their thoughts and prayers our way during this difficult time.”
It’s been a rough couple of years for Stewart, who also serves as the face of Covergirl’s “The Perfect Suit” campaign. The 49-year-old actress has rarely been seen in public since the shooting. In July 2019, she spoke to Vanity Fair about the incident, saying, “I feel like there are times when I don’t feel safe, and I think about what would happen if somebody wanted to do something to me. It’s like a constant worry.”
What would’ve happened had she not answered Vanity Fair’s door? We may never know. She had a home invasion movie playing in the background, but she chose to let her guard down and answer the door. In that short amount of time, her kidnappers could’ve killed her. But she’s also the type of person who likes to live her life on the edge, who takes daring risks and isn’t afraid to put herself in harm’s way. That’s who Stewart is, and it’s that quality her fans have found endearing.
Perhaps it’s best to think of the events that led up to the attack as a wake-up call. It’s been almost two years since the shooting, but Stewart continues to work, appearing in the upcoming film The Spy, alongside Melissa McCarthy and Dennis Quaid. She has also signed on to star in the upcoming season of the WGN America series, Aquaman, alongside Ben Kingsley. At a March 26, 2020, press conference for Aquaman, director James Wan said that Stewart’s character, Nancy, is “a strong leading character. She’s a seasoned spy, but she’s also got a vulnerable side to her. What’s interesting is, [Aquaman is] a story about humanity and the environment but also about trust.”
Stewart doesn’t just star in superhero movies. She’s often the driving force behind them. In 2009, she starred alongside Robert Downey Jr. in Ironman, which was at the time, the second highest-grossing film of all time. That same year, she also starred alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in the The Wolf of Wall Street. In 2014, she won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Bates Motel. In 2020, she’ll star in and produce The Spy, an adaptation of the best-selling book about Nancy Pelosi by Joe Hagan. It’s fair to say that in her 40-plus year acting career, which began in 1979 and included Twilight, she’s found a way to appeal to a wide audience. That’s important, considering the massive amount of viewers that Hollywood news outlets claim she and Pattinson have.
An Alleged Relationship
In the months leading up to the shooting, rumors about Stewart and Pattinson’s relationship had been swirling. In 2016, People magazine reported that the two were an item and were spending more time together. Around the time of the shooting, Stewart was photographed with a rose and a diamond ring. One of her followers on Twitter guessed that the singer might’ve become engaged to Pattinson. It wasn’t until months later that the couple officially confirmed their engagement, after which they had a lavish wedding ceremony in Italy in March 2018. The wedding was covered by both Vogue and Hello! Magazine, with photographers’ capturing the blissful couple’s big day.
The two have kept a low profile since the shooting. Aside from their engagement and wedding news, not much is known about the alleged romantic relationship. In terms of their professional relationship, though, it seems everything is back to normal. On April 1, 2020, they were spotted together at the premiere of The Spy. The following day, they attended a special screening of the film in Los Angeles. At the time of this writing, they’re believed to be in either Texas or New Mexico filming the comedy What Happens in the Car (formerly known as Sleeping with Alleged), which hits theaters on May 4, 2020.
Why Texas?
Rumors about Stewart and Pattinson’s relationship first surfaced in 2006, when they were spotted getting cozy at a premiere in Los Angeles. They’ve since been linked to some of the biggest scandals in recent years, including the Charlie Sheen phone scandal, the Randy Orton wrestling scandal, and OJ Simpson’s murder trial. Texas is, for lack of a better term, the epicenter of all things Stanton. It’s a bustling city surrounded by farmlands. You could say that the small town atmosphere lends itself to intrigue and betrayal. The population there is a bit more than 80,000, so it’s not like they’re completely outnumbered by celebrities. Still, it’s not like they’re Vegas either. As we’ve mentioned, Vegas is where Stephen King wrote The Mist, a novella that was turned into a 1981 horror movie where the deity itself walks among the living. As soon as you step out of King’s Wichita and into Texas farming country, you’re in for a treat. Well, a different kind of treat, but you get the idea.