Woody Harrelson was involved in a physical altercation which resulted in him punching a man in the neck. The actor has claimed it was an act of self defense.
The incident took place on the rooftop of D.C.’s Watergate Hotel on Wednesday night. Harrelson grew agitated when a man who was reportedly intoxicated refused to stop taking photos of him and his daughter, according to NBC Washington. Harrelson allegedly approached the man and told him to stop taking photos and delete the images but the man then lunged at him "in an attempt to grab his neck," a police report cited by the outlet states. It was at that point that Harrelson reportedly responded by punching the man in the neck. He told police he was acting "in defense of himself," an incident report obtained by Fox News states.
The aggressor has not been identified and charges are still pending, police said. Witnesses have backed up the claim that Harrelson, who shares three daughters with his wife Laura Louie, was a victim. He has not been charged with any crime. It has not been revealed which of his daughters was involved in the incident.
This is not the first time Harrelson has clashed with photographers. He was involved in a scuffle with two tabloid photographers in 1995. The actor claims they were stalking him and his family during a visit to Martha's Vineyard, according to E! News. In 2008, he was sued by a celebrity photographer for an incident that occurred two years prior in which Harrelson reportedly attacked the photographer and broke his video camera. The case was dismissed after a settlement was reached. The following year Harrelson was again accused of assaulting and damaging the video camera of a paparazzo at LaGuardia Airport in New York. Harrelson addressed the incident in a statement.
"I wrapped a movie called Zombieland, in which I was constantly under assault by zombies, then flew to New York, still very much in character," he said. "With my daughter at the airport I was startled by a paparazzo who I quite understandably mistook for a zombie."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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