LAW: ‘SNAPPER ATTACK WAS AN ACCIDENT’
British actor JUDE LAW has denied punching a female photographer during an evening out in London, insisting the incident was an "accident." The Alfie star was surrounded by snappers as he exited Automat nightclub in the early hours of Thursday morning (23Jul09).
He was accused of hitting an unnamed woman photographer on the head and slapping her in the face as she tried to take his picture.
But the star insists he was blinded by camera flashes and didn’t mean to strike the female with his flailing arm.
A statement from his lawyer, Graham Shear, reads, "This is all nonsense. Last night’s incident was an accident. Jude was blinded by the camera flashes when he left the restaurant, raised his hand to shield himself and inadvertently struck somebody standing very close. He apologised and left. Pictures of this sort can often be misleading." Law was previously accused of assaulting a paparazzi photographer in 2007 - he was arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm after attempting to grab a camera outside his London home. He was later released without charge.
Law is the latest in a long line of celebrities who have endured scuffles with the paparazzi. Lily Allen was cautioned by the police in 2007 for assaulting a snapper outside her home, and the incident later caused her problems in obtaining a U.S. work visa.
In March this year (09) she was granted a court order banning the paparazzi from getting too close following another scuffle with the press.
And rapper Kanye West twice fell foul of the law when he tussled with photographers at LAX airport, Los Angeles in September last year (08) and in Newcastle, north England in November (08).
Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)
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