Gérard Depardieu Accused of Punching ‘King of Paparazzi’

French actor Gérard Depardieu is accused of attacking Rino Barillari, known as the “king of paparazzi,” outside a well-known cafe in Rome.

The incident took place Tuesday, mere weeks after Depardieu was accused of sexual assault. Depardieu, 75, was dining with two women at an outdoor table at Harry’s Bar when Barillari, 79, allegedly started taking photographs at the Via Veneto venue.

Barillari had been repeatedly asked to stop taking photos, according to Gianni Riotta, a columnist for La Repubblica who witnessed the event, The New York Times reported.

As the renowned photographer left the bar, one of the women with the French film star, Magda Vavrusova, allegedly followed Barillari into the street, shouting at him.

Depardieu then reportedly confronted Barillari and repeatedly struck him.

“There was a lot of blood,” Riotta said.

Barillari had “violently pushed” Vavrusova, his arm making contact with her chest, before the confrontation, according to Vavrusova’s lawyer, Delphine Meillet. Depardieu was defending Vavrusova when he fell and “slid” into the photographer, Meillet added.

“After everything that had happened, the photographer persisted in deluging them with photos,” she said.

Vavrusova was taken to the hospital and intends to sue Barillari, according to Meillet. It remains unclear whether Barillari plans to press charges against Depardieu and Vavrusova.

Piero Lepore, the owner of Harry’s Bar, confirmed the incident to CNN but did not specify who was at fault.

Barillari detailed the incident in a column written for Messaggero on Wednesday, saying he “received a phone call from a friend, [Depardieu] was going to Villa Borghese” early on Tuesday afternoon, according to an English interpretation by the New York Post.

“Once I arrived at Porta Pinciana I saw him. There were six of them at the table, all French, he was next to a beautiful girl. I took a stand and took out the telephoto lens. But Depardieu threw ice on me. I stopped and waited patiently outside,” the photographer wrote, claiming that while outside the bar, “the girl threw herself at me, offending me, trying to provoke me, she kicked, as if she was looking for a fight. I remained motionless.”

Barillari claimed that Depardieu arrived and began shouting at him, hitting him “three times, while everyone witnessed the scene in the heart of the Dolce Vita.”

“I didn’t give up, he had beaten me, three punches in the face, I stood in front of his rental car, to block him and in the meantime call the police,” the Post cited him as saying.

Barillari claimed Depardieu then left the area while he sat down on the curb and was brought ice for his wounds by witnesses.