MOSCOW, May 22. Italian photographer Rino Barillari , known as the «King of the Paparazzi», accused French actor Gerard Depardieu of assault.
«I spotted him on Via Veneto, he was with a woman. I came closer to take a few pictures… when she attacked me in a rage,» said 79-year-old Barilari, whose words are quoted Messaggero newspaper. According to the photographer, the woman kicked him several times to make him move away.
«After that, I took a couple of punches from him as well,» Barilari added. The photographer was taken by ambulance to the hospital.
Barillari noted that he photographed them at the table “secretly” and had no idea how it would end. He intends to write a statement to the police.
According to the Adnkronos agency, the incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon at Harry's bar, where Depardieu was having lunch in the company of a woman and several other people in the open air. Depardieu's lawyer Delphine Meillet told the agency that Barillari, in turn, forcibly pushed Depardieu's companion Magda Vavrusova; according to the lawyer, the woman is in the hospital. Vavrusova contacted the police department in Rome with a statement.
The owner of Harry's Bar, Piero Lepore, whose words were quoted by the Corriere della Sera newspaper, confirmed Barillari's version.
“Depardieu ate outside with friends, there were six of them,” he noted. According to him, upon seeing the actor, Barillari took several photographs. «While he was taking photographs, the woman who was with him rushed at him… she said all sorts of nasty things to him.» He added that Depardieu then approached the photographer and, “without saying anything,” punched him twice. After which “the actor got into the car and they drove off,” Lepore noted.