French actor Gérard Depardieu has been accused of repeatedly punching Rino Barillari, known as the “king of paparazzi,” in an incident on Tuesday (21 May). According to a report in The New York Times , Depardieu, 75, accosted Barillari, 79, on the Via Veneto outside Harry’s Bar. The Times quotes La Repubblica columnist Gianni Riotta as a witness to the attack.
He reports that Barillari had repeatedly been asked to stop taking photographs, and that when he left he was followed into the street by an upset woman who had been sitting with Depardieu. Riotta said that Depardieu caught Barillari “and hit him, hit him, hit him”. He added: “There was a lot of blood.
” Riotta gave a witness statement to the police, but it remained unclear whether Barillari, who was taken away in an ambulance, would press charges. The Independent has approached Depardieu’s lawyers for comment. The woman who was sitting with Depardieu has been identified as Magda Vavrusova.
Vavrusova’s lawyer, Delphine Meillet, said in a statement that Barillari had “violently pushed” Vavrusova, touching her chest with his arm. She said that when Depardieu intervened, he had “fallen and slid onto” the photographer. Vavrusova was also taken to hospital and plans to sue Barillari, according to Meillet.
“After everything that had happened, the photographer persisted in deluging them with photos,” she added. According to Riotta, after Depardieu got into a vehicle following the altercation Baril.
