The TV Zone

In the avalanche of press this morning on Kiefer Sutherland's latest head-butt with the law, you'll probably notice multiple references to his famous body-block on a Christmas tree a few years ago.

It's often been cited as exhibit A (or b, c and d) in his uneasy relationship with alcohol. But this evidence -- just to continue the metaphor -- is not admissible in a court of law. Reason: It was probably staged for his 2006 documentary, "I Trust You to Kill Me." The clip is most often seen out of context, as a 10-second bleep of a madman who looks suspiciously like Jack Bauer tackling a defenseless spruce. But -- while he might not have been 100 percent sober and the tree DID do nothing to provoke this attack -- it was also a joke for the film, and Sutherland happily used it to promote the flick.

The flick? A semi-mockumentary about his efforts to promote the band he had signed to his Ironworks label, Rocco Delucca and the Burden.

I bring this up simply to say -- as you read more about Kiefer's latest mess, keep in mind: No Christmas tree was injured in the filming of "I Trust You to Kill Me."