The French actor Gérard Depardieu (Châteauroux, 75 years old) and the one known as the king of the paparazzi, Rino Barillari, have clashed and come to blows over unwanted photographs taken in a restaurant. It all happened this Tuesday, May 22, in the center of Rome. Barillari, 79, known for his snapshots from the years of the sweet lifehas reported that the interpreter attacked him by punching him several times and throwing him to the ground after the paparazzo I tried to take some photos of him while he was having lunch on a terrace. Apparently, Depardieu was sharing a table with five other people in a well-known restaurant in the Italian capital when Barillari approached, took out his camera and pressed the shutter to immortalize the scene. The diners were bothered by the presence of the photographer and, according to the protagonists and some witnesses, at that moment the scuffle began.
According to Barillari’s version, nicknamed The king of the paparazzi by the filmmaker Federico Fellini―, the actor’s partner, Magda Vavrusova, immediately tried to block him, grabbed him by the arm, threw ice from a glass at him and kicked him a few times to make him move away. The photographer managed to get away, and then Depardieu took action. Always according to his version, the actor pounced on him, threw him to the ground and punched him three times in the face, for which he ended up in the hospital, with a wound to his eyebrow. “I arrived on foot at Via Veneto, I secretly photographed him with a pretty girl. She noticed and threw me some ice. Something normal, famous people always make a scene like that… But I never expected what happened after her: when she came out she came to me and said: ‘Merd’ [Mierda]. I took a step back and smiled at him. But then he arrived. Mamma mia How big he is, I didn’t have time to realize what was happening, he punched me three times in the face, my entire right side hurt. “I’m going to report him,” the photographer explained to the newspaper. Il Corriere della Sera. “My head hurts, I’m not 15 years old anymore, I’m 79″, she added.
The owner of the restaurant, Piero Lepore, and some witnesses have supported the photographer’s version. “I was having a coffee when I saw Gérard Depardieu suddenly attack Barillari,” said journalist Gianni Riotta. The police, who arrived almost immediately at the scene and are analyzing the images from the security cameras in the area, have indicated that after what happened the interpreter left with his companions aboard a vehicle driven by a driver. Depardieu, one of France’s top movie stars, has faced several sexual assault allegations in recent years that have tarnished his career. The actor will be tried next October for alleged sexual assaults committed in 2021 against two women while filming a film.
He quadrilateral Where the scuffle took place was the outside area of the famous Harry’s Bar on the emblematic Via Veneto, a luxurious restaurant that enjoyed its greatest splendor in the golden years of Italian cinema. sweet life, when stars like Ava Gardner, Anita Ekberg, Audrey Hepburn, Sofia Loren, Marlon Brando and Federico Fellini walked between the tables while Frank Sinatra played the piano. At that time it was common for paparazzi to crowd around the bar to photograph celebrities. And scenes of confrontations between international stars and photographers were relatively common in Rome, the epicenter of the sweet life of cinema in the sixties of the last century.
“These scenes occurred until 15 years ago: before we were used to them, today it seems that we have gone back in time and, really, we did not expect it,” Piero Lepore told Il Corriere della Sera. And he has confirmed the photojournalist’s version. “Depardieu was eating at the outside tables with some friends, there were six of them, Barillari passed by, saw him and took some photos of him. While he was taking the photos, the woman who was with him threw herself at him in an incredible way, telling him everything. At that moment, Depardieu, without saying a word, punched Rino. He then got into the car and they left. “We are used to celebrities, but we were no longer used to these altercations,” he declared.
The lawyer of the French actor and Magda Vavrusova has offered a different version of the events. According to her, the paparazzo He attacked the actor’s partner first. “Rino Barillari, also known for his photos and his aggressive methods, violently pushed Gérard Depardieu’s partner in the center of Rome,” said the lawyer, who has also spread Vavrusova’s story: “The photographer pushed me by touching my torso and chest with the arm. At this moment when I am filing the complaint, I am still in pain, it was very violent.” Considering his reconstruction of what happened, “given the violence of the situation, Gérard Depardieu, who stood between the paparazzo and his partner slipped and fell on him.”
It is not the first time that Barillari, who at almost 80 years old continues to walk the streets of Rome in search of celebrities, has suffered an attack. A few years ago he himself offered the particular war report of his professional career in an interview with this newspaper: 163 visits to the emergency room, 11 broken ribs and 76 retired cameras trying to hunt down the perfect photograph. On more than one occasion he has become the target of the ire of celebrities who didn’t like being caught red-handed. For example, the Irish actor Peter O’Toole, the legendary Lawrence of Arabia, threw the camera at his head in 1964, when he caught him drunk and in the company of one of his lovers, the actress Barbara Steele. He has also had run-ins with Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis and Charles Aznavour.
