Depardieu Fined

Dario Orlandi brought legal action against Gerard Depardieu after the actor head-butted the paparazzo when he spotted him taking photographs while on a shopping trip in front of the Cappelle Medicee, Florence.   Orlandi claimed the assault left him unable to work for four days.   The Italian court ruled in the actor’s absence that he must pay Orlandi 800 Euros (approximately £640) for ‘injuries and threats,’ and a 1500 euro (£1,200) fee as part of damages to be settled in a different court.

At the time of the incident, Orlandi said he was taking long-range photographs of Depardieu and his girlfriend when the actor saw him and told him to stop or he would break his camera.   Orlandi claimed, ‘I never went near him, using a tele-photo lens to keep my distance. Many of the other people in the market were photographing him too.   I walked out of the market but then I followed the actor at about 15 metres distance and I took about 15 or so shots with a long lens. Gérard Depardieu spotted me as he was about to take a taxi. He started running towards me.  I was scared and I also began to run. As I was running faster, he signalled to me that he wanted to talk to me. I let him approach me and without any warning he head-butted me in the face,"

Orlandi was taken to Santa Mario Nuova Hospital in Florence, suffering from an edema and was told by doctors there that he needed four days to recuperate before returning to work.

Although Depardieu is alleged at the time of the incident to have admitted hitting a paprazzo who was photographing him, adding that the incident would never have happened if he had been a ‘real journalist,’ the actor’s lawyer announced that he would appeal the decision.   Orlandi was a member of the Italian National Federation of Journalists. [ADD]

Further Reading:

2008

Italy: 2008