--- description: A South African columnist claims a "reliable source" told her that the accused took acting lessons before his day in court title: Oscar Pistorius Denies Claims Of Taking Pre-Trial Acting LessonsOscar Pistorius Denies Claims Of Taking Pre-Trial Acting Lessons image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaa9097ddfea6d5f5/698687c4169ab059ee2787be/oscar-pistorius-trial1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [South Africa](/tag/south-africa/) ## South Africa Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Oscar Pistorius Denies Taking Pre-Trial Acting Lessons by [Laura Stampler](/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 22, 2014 12:10 PM CUT  Paralympian Oscar Pistorius exits the courtroom after his murder trial was postponed at the high court in Pretoria on March 28, 2014. Paralympian Oscar Pistorius exits the courtroom after his murder trial was postponed at the high court in Pretoria on March 28, 2014.Werner Beukes—AFP/Getty Images by [Laura Stampler](/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 22, 2014 12:10 PM CUT A spokesperson for Oscar Pistorius has [denied](http://gma.yahoo.com/oscar-pistorius-denies-took-acting-lessons-trial-201454740--abc-news-topstories.html "undefined") accusations that the athlete had taken acting lessons before taking the stand to defend himself from charges he murdered his girlfriend. A South African newspaper columnist alleged that the Olympic athlete’s emotional testimony—during which he has repeatedly [wept uncontrollably](http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2014/03/10/oscar-pistorius-trial/6249951/ "undefined")—wasn’t genuine. “I have it from a reliable source that you are taking acting lessons for your days in court,” [Jani Allan wrote in an open letter to Pistorius on her website](http://janiallan.com/2014/04/14/letter-oscar/ "undefined"). “Your coach has an impossible task… Oscar, you are the latest in a long line of faux heroes.” Pistorius, 27, testified that he mistakenly shot girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp four times through a locked bathroom door, thinking that she was a home invader. A statement by Anneliese Burgess, the media manager for the Pistorius family, said Tuesday that the allegation was not just “totally devoid of any truth” but that it “makes a mockery of the enormous human tragedy involving the Steenkamp family and our client and his family.” Pistorius’ trial will resume May 5. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/71622/oscar-pistorius-denies-acting-lessons/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/71622/oscar-pistorius-denies-acting-lessons/"},"headline":"Oscar Pistorius Denies Taking Pre-Trial Acting Lessons","datePublished":"2014-04-22T12:10:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:25:33.857Z","description":"A South African columnist claims a \"reliable source\" told her that the accused took acting lessons before his day in court, an allegation the athlete's legal team has categorically denied","url":"https://time.com/71622/oscar-pistorius-denies-acting-lessons/","keywords":["South Africa","Crime","oscar pistorius","Reeva Steenkamp","trial","Acting"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaa9097ddfea6d5f5/698687c4169ab059ee2787be/oscar-pistorius-trial1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laura Stampler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaa9097ddfea6d5f5/698687c4169ab059ee2787be/oscar-pistorius-trial1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Paralympian Oscar Pistorius exits the courtroom after his murder trial was postponed at the high court in Pretoria on March 28, 2014.","caption":"Paralympian Oscar Pistorius exits the courtroom after his murder trial was postponed at the high court in Pretoria on March 28, 2014.","creditText":"Werner Beukes—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/south-africa/","name":"South Africa"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/71622/oscar-pistorius-denies-acting-lessons/","name":"Oscar Pistorius Denies Taking Pre-Trial Acting Lessons"}}]}] ```