(Rome) Rino Barillari, nicknamed the “king of the paparazzi”, accuses French star Gérard Depardieu of having physically attacked him Tuesday afternoon on Via Veneto, cradle of the Dolce Vita in the heart of Rome, the media reported Italians.
The scene took place at Harry’s bar, one of the most popular establishments on Via Veneto, around 2 p.m. “I saw him in Via Veneto with a woman. I approached to take some photos,” said the 79-year-old photographer, quoted by the Roman daily Il Messaggero.
According to his account, it was first of all the woman accompanying the actor who tried to block him, then it was Mr. Depardieu himself who intervened and punched him three times in the face.
The photographer was rescued by the owner of the establishment. Taken to the hospital, the photographer, contacted by telephone late in the afternoon by AFP, was in a state of shock: “I can’t speak, I’m in the hospital,” he said. said before hanging up.
According to Il Messaggerowho managed to question him before his hospitalization, the photographer plans to file a complaint: “I go to the hospital first, but then I take care of him: I file a complaint against him with the carabinieri,” a- he declared to the newspaper.
“When I photographed them at their table, obviously in secret, I couldn’t imagine how it would have ended,” he said. “Mamma mia, he’s so big. He punched me three times in the face.”
Rino Barillari, who started his career very young, experienced the golden age of La Dolce Vita in Rome, where he photographed celebrities like Liz Taylor, Ingrid Bergman, Jacqueline Kennedy, Barbra Streisand, Brigitte Bardot, Ava Gardner , Sophia Loren, Gina Lollobrigida, Marcello Mastroianni or even Claudia Cardinale and Vittorio Gassmann.
At 75, Gérard Depardieu, sacred monster of French cinema, sees his star fading. He is due to be tried in October in Paris for sexual assault on two women during filming in 2021. He has also been indicted since 2020 for rape and sexual assault on a young actress, Charlotte Arnould.
Several other complaints have been filed against the star, who denies the facts with which he is accused.