A well known Italian paparazzi photographer accused French movie star Gerard Depardieu of punching him in Rome on Tuesday, media reported, with the actor’s lawyer saying he had been defending a companion.
Italian each day Il Messaggero quoted the photographer Rino Barillari as saying the 75-year outdated actor punched him 3 times within the face when he tried to {photograph} the star.
Barillari, 79, dubbed the “king of paparazzi”, informed the paper he approached the actor and a girl at Harry’s Bar on the stylish Via Veneto on Tuesday afternoon.
“Mamma mia, he is fat. He punched me three times in the face,” the newspaper quoted him as saying. “First I’m going to hospital, then I’m going to deal with him. I’m going to file a complaint to the police.”
He mentioned the lady, Depardieu’s associate Magda Vavrusova, initially tried to dam him from taking pictures.
In an announcement launched later, the couple’s lawyer Delphine Meillet cited Vavrusova as saying the photographer had pushed her violently and touched her chest together with his arm.
“It still hurts. He was extremely violent,” it quoted Vavrusova as telling police when she filed a criticism.
Meillet mentioned Depardieu slipped and fell on Barillari whereas making an attempt to get between him and Vavrusova.
The lawyer mentioned Barillari was “well known as much for his photos as for his aggressive methods”.
Reached by phone, Barillari informed AFP he was in hospital and couldn’t speak.
During a protracted profession that began younger, Barillari has photographed quite a few stars together with Elizabeth Taylor and Ingrid Bergman within the Italian capital.
Depardieu, a large of French cinema, has confronted scandals over latest years, together with a sequence of intercourse assault fees that he denies.
He is scheduled to go on trial in October over accusations of sexual assault towards two girls.
© 2024 AFP