Date: 23rd December 2001
EWAN McGREGOR's character name in new war movie BLACK HAWK DOWN (2002) had to be changed - when the real-life hero he portrays was convicted of child abuse. The Scottish actor's character John Grumes is based on real- life John Stebbins, who won America's Silver Star medal for bravery in the Battle of Mogadishu.
Stebbins, now 36, was courtmartialled in June 2000 for abusing a child under the age of 12, and he is currently serving a 30 year sentence at Leavenworth military prison in Kansas. Mark Bowden, who wrote the best-selling book about a botched American raid in Somalia and the movie's screenplay, admits he was pressured into changing the name of McGregor's character by officials at the Pentagon, to avoid controversy. (KL/LAT/NFA)
Source: WENN
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