Gérard Depardieu is facing a trial in Rome after allegedly punching a legendary paparazzo outside a bar in the Italian capital.
The French actor, who earlier this month was found guilty by a Paris court of sexually assaulting two women during a film shoot in 2021, is charged with causing personal injury to the Italian photographer Rino Barillari. The case is due to begin at a court in Rome on 17 June.
Depardieu, 76, is accused of punching Barillari, known in Italy as “the king of paparazzi” for his tenacity in capturing up-close shots of celebrities, outside Harry’s Bar on Via Veneto in May last year.
Barillari, 80, went to the bar, a famous stomping ground for the glitterati and the photographers who trailed them during the 1960s dolce vita period, after receiving a tipoff that Depardieu was dining there.
In an interview after the alleged incident, Barillari said Depardieu, who was eating outside Harry’s Bar with a friend, Magda Vavrusova, became frustrated after he saw the paparazzo taking pictures of them.
Barillari claimed that Vavrusova came towards him, followed by Depardieu, who allegedly punched the photographer three times, causing him to fall to the ground. Barillari was taken to hospital and treated for a wound close to his left eye.
Barillari also alleged that Depardieu showed him the middle finger, threw an ice cube towards him and shouted an insult about Italians.
Depardieu denied the claims, later telling La Repubblica that Barillari had pushed him. At the time, Delphine Meillet, a lawyer for Vavrusova, said her client had been “violently pushed” by Barillari and that Depardieu “fell and slid” on to the paparazzo after intervening.
Valerio Aulino, a Rome-based lawyer representing Depardieu in the case, said on Tuesday he was unable to provide additional comment.
In a career spanning more than six decades, Barillari has masqueraded as priests, gardeners and bricklayers in his quest to capture photos of the rich and famous, including Princess Margaret, Jackie Kennedy, the Beatles and Frank Sinatra. But he is also well-known for getting into altercations with his targets.
“I can forgive his punches, but not the insult against Italians,” Barillari told the Italian news agency Adnkronos on Tuesday.
