The “king of the paparazzi” Rino Barillari was hit repeatedly in the face by the actor Gerard Depardieu, with at least three punches, as he left theHarry’s Bar in via Veneto around 2pm. However, a few hours after the news came out, the version of Depardieu’s partner’s lawyer also emerged, accusing the photographer of having pushed her. According to what was reconstructed by the news agency Adnkronos, the French actor was having lunch with his partner and four other people at the outdoor tables of the historic restaurant in the capital. Barillari noticed the VIP and approached the table with his camera. He smiled at the group and took some photos but the actor’s partner, not liking the surprise, grabbed the 79-year-old photojournalist’s arm, blocking him. Barillari tried to free himself but at that point Depardieu intervened by punching him three times in the face, causing him to fall to the ground. The photojournalist was assisted by the owner of the place, Piero Lepore, who immediately called for help. “My head hurts, oh, I’m not 15 anymore, I’m 79”, declared the unfortunate man toAdnkronos.
The photographer’s story
«Today there is a taxi strike in the city, so I arrived in Via Veneto on foot – said the photojournalist of Messenger – Secretly I photographed him together with a beautiful, beautiful girl. She noticed and threw me some ice. A normal thing, famous people always do this scene… However, I never expected what happened next: when she came out, in fact, she came towards me saying “shit”. I took a step back and smiled at her. But then he arrived. My goodness, how big he is, I didn’t have time to understand what was happening before he punched me three times in the face, my whole right side hurts. I hit the alarm clock, here the Turtleneck is back all over again. In Cannes they make cinema and here they make bullshit.” «Now – she underlines to the agency – but I know your business. Now I’m going to the hospital because he knows I’ve broken something and then I’ll report it to the police. Aho’, ‘war is war’.”
The moments before the attack
In a video released exclusively by Adnkronos, Depardieu is seen in the moments in which he gets up to greet the owner of the club and then heads towards the exit to face the king of the paparazzi.
The version of Depardieu’s partner
On the issue, however, the actor’s partner’s version did not take long to arrive. «The so-called paparazzi king Rino Barillari, also known for his photos and his aggressive methods, violently pushed Gérard Depardieu’s partner today in the heart of Rome, Magda Vavrusova», declares in a note Delphine Meillet, lawyer of the bar of Paris as the young woman’s legal representative. «The photographer pushed me, touching my torso and chest with his arm. At this moment in which I present the complaint I still feel pain, it was very violent”, the woman reported to the officers of the Rome Police Headquarters to whom she filed a complaint for violence. According to what her lawyer, Magda Vavrusova, reports, she is now at the Policlinico Umberto I in Rome at this moment. «This photographer, who is not in his first fight, boasts almost 170 medical emergencies for having argued with celebrities who refused to be photographed. Faced with the violence of the situation, Gérard Depardieu, who intervened between the paparazzi and his partner, fell and slipped on him.” At that point, the couple attempted to get into the car, but Barillari attempted to take unwanted photos of them again. In support of her thesis, Meillet also recalls a phrase said by Barillari in the past: «In an interview you said: “When you chase someone and take a photo of them, what do you do with that photo? You need a story. The argument was the moment of provocation: if the person refused, you got the best photos when you made them angry.” He will be prosecuted for fabricating his own story.”
