Oksana Grigorieva says Hollywood actor-director Mel Gibson hit and choked her while she was holding their baby daughter in her arms.

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Grigorieva made the allegations on CNN's "Larry King Live" program Wednesday night.

Much of what she said had already been reported in the media based on audio of their heated argument leaked on the Internet, legal documents filed in the former couple's custody battle over their daughter, Lucia, and paperwork filed in a police investigation into Grigorieva's domestic violence claims.

Gibson has said he slapped Grigorieva because he felt she was endangering their daughter by shaking her and running through their dark backyard with the child in her arms. He also said the recordings leaked on the Internet were part of Grigorieva's plot to try to extort money from him, allegations Grigorieva has denied.

"Jan. 6, this year, the beating took place," E! News reported Grigorieva told King. "Mel actually assaulted me while I was holding the baby in my arms... I ran into my son's bedroom and told him, 'Mel's crazy.'"

She went on to say her 12-year-old son from a previous relationship with actor Timothy Dalton hid behind the bed as she stood with Lucia "like a mother protecting her cubs."

She said Gibson came into the room "and struck me twice."

"He wasn't drunk. He hit me, and choked me in front of my son and brandished a gun at me," she claimed.

E! News reported Grigorieva also told King she feared for her life and recorded Gibson on the phone after the altercation because she thought she wouldn't "live through the night."

"I wanted my mother to be able to prove that, if I'm dead, that this is who did it," she said.