Sam Worthington arrested in New York for assaulting a paparazzo

3rd Annual AACTA Awards
Do you remember when Aussie actor Sam Worthington was supposed to be the next big thing? That was around the time he starred in Avatar, and although he’s worked steadily since he hasn’t really hit it big. (There was Clash of The Titans, which did well enough, but the sequel, Wrath of the Titans, kind of tanked.) Anyway I used to think he was hot-ish but then I heard him in some interviews and changed my opinion. Plus he’s getting a reputation as a drunken SOB.

In November Sam was arrested for disorderly conduct after he pushed a doorman for refusing him entrance to an Atlanta club. (He was deemed too drunk to get in, so he screamed that he was a DEA agent, but he was just playing one in a movie.) Then just this weekend he was arrested for assault after punching a paparazzo outside a bar in NY City. The photographer allegedly kicked Sam’s girlfriend, and he was said to be responding to that. So the paparazzo was arrested for assault too. Here’s more:

The 37-year-old star of Avatar has been charged with assault after he punched a paparazzo who allegedly kicked his girlfriend, model Lara Bingle, in an incident outside a Greenwich Village bar around 5.30 p.m. local time.

“The photographer kicked Lara and then Worthington punched him causing the photographer to have lacerations to his nose,” New York Police Department Lieutenant John Grimpel said.

“He has been charged with assault. He punched the photographer.”

Worthington was released on bail but will appear in court at a later date.

The photographer was also arrested and charged with assault, reckless endangerment and harassment.

[From Radar]

A lot of people are commenting on Radar that it was justified for Sam to hit the guy hard in the face like that. Really? Someone kicks your girlfriend and the response is to punch them in the face? I mean, I get the urge to defend your lady but Sam was probably drunk and raring for a fight. We don’t know what went down, it’s possible the “kick” didn’t happen or that the photographer was just in the way. Whatever happened, it doesn’t sound like either of them is going to face stiff consequences.

Exclusive... Sam Worthington & Lara Bingle Out For A Stroll In New York

Sam Worthington and Lara Bingle leave Barney's New York

Sam Worthington & Lara Bingle Shopping In Beverly Hills

Photo credit: FameFlynet and WENN.com

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54 Responses to “Sam Worthington arrested in New York for assaulting a paparazzo”

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  1. jaye says:

    If I was a man and someone kicked my wife/girlfriend I would introduce said person to my fist as well.

  2. Illyra says:

    I thought for a second it was Pierce Brosnan in that first pic.

  3. Tulip Garden says:

    I’d have to find out more before making a proper judgement, of course, but if the pap did kick his girlfriend then a punch seems fair. Even drunkards can be right some of the time.

    • Nikkie says:

      +1

      If that’s really how it went down then yes that pap guy deserved a punch in the face for kicking a woman .

    • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

      Agree we don’t know enough. I’d say if someone kicked me, my husband would position himself between us to prevent them from hurting me again, and if they continued to be threatening, he would hit them if he needed to protect me. I honestly don’t see anything wrong with that. I find the story odd, though. Why would someone just kick her?

    • starrywonder says:

      Sorry but if his gf was kicked (which it sounds like she was since the papparazzo was arrested too) then yeah I would have decked the piece of crap too. Frankly I am sick of the papparazzi for doing things to get a rise of out of celebs and screeching assault afterwards. If Sam W was a papparazzi W then I throw shade at him but he really does try his best to avoid them.

  4. Jen says:

    I have no sympathy for paparazzi whatsoever. But Sam is also terrible. So Team No One!

  5. eliza says:

    He is another creepy character in my book. He is an awful actor. His performances are about as wooden as you can get.

    Lol. So the way he chooses to handle a violent or abusive pap is with more violence and abuse. *eye roll*. What a sober, MAN would do is get his lady to safety THEN immediately call the police and press charges.

    • Ag-UK says:

      +1
      He is a terrible actor and not really sure what happened but I have a feeling she loved the attention always smiling and looking at cameras.

      • Tapioca says:

        It is refreshing to see a Hollywood actor date an older woman though! Clearly following in Hugh Jackman’s footsteps.

        Oh no – she’s 26. Holy s***, that is why we always wear sunscreen…

  6. Aurie says:

    I feel the paparazzi probably got too close and maybe other paps pushed him and he stumbled and accidentally kicked the GF who thought it was on purpose and thus got really angry over it, causing Sam to punch him. Just my guess.

  7. Meggie says:

    A guy getting violent with a woman deserves to get his ass handed to him. Flame away, I don’t much care but guys in general are stronger physically than females. I know that violence it’s the answer but seriously? If your boyfriend/husband just stood around and didn’t react, how would you feel about your mate? Would you just call the cops and wait? What if the guy kept attacking?

    The paparazzo wanted to start something and heckled her violently. That’s messed up. I’m on Worthington’s side here.

    • don't kill me i'm french says:

      +1

    • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

      I have a friend who was entering her house with her husband through their garage when they heard a noise and thought someone was in the house, and he PUSHED her out of his way so he could run. All of her friends, including me, I say with some shame, still talk about this and laugh at him, years and years later. He will never live it down. So yeah, I think there is some expectation that a man will protect a woman, or at least not throw her to the wolves while he escapes. Whether or not it’s fair, I don’t know, but certainly it exists.

      • Illyra says:

        Oh man, your friend’s husband is a p*ssy. Seriously, he PUSHED her out of the way so he could escape?? LOL

      • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

        Yes!!! I still have to laugh when I think about it. And he doesn’t know we know and he’s sort of fake macho, so we all make fun of him. Not in front of him, of course. It’s one of those things where you feel mean but every now and again somebody brings it up and we laugh til we cry.

  8. Feebee says:

    While it is an assault = bad, it’s also hard to have any sympathy for a pap… ever.

  9. ali says:

    Any loser that kicks me better be hit back. If I cant do it then the man I am with better defend me. Real men defend their women.

  10. ORLY says:

    If some random dude kicked me, I wouldn’t object to my man kicking his arse.
    Don’t know about this Sam person’s history but I don’t think it matters in this situation

  11. Kelly says:

    Why wasn’t the photographer arrested for assaulting a woman in the first place?!?

  12. Emil says:

    Paparazzi are like insects. If you step on one, it shouldn’t matter.

  13. Zbornak Syndrome says:

    He is so utterly nondescript and forgettable. Totally lacking charisma and screen presence in my opinion. He was also arrested here in ATL for brawling I think, no one knew who the heck he was even after Avatar, Terminator fame.
    His lady really likes those cameras eh?

  14. Green Eggs & Ham says:

    My Hero!! No man should ever kick/hit a woman.

  15. Dani says:

    Wait wasn’t he married????

  16. dizzylucy says:

    It’s amazing, this guy has been in some really big movies, but is completely forgettable as an actor.
    If the guy truly walked up and kicked the woman, I can’t say I have much of a problem with SW defending her.

    • Erinn says:

      I guess. I don’t know. Depends on the kick I guess. If I got a light tap trying to get a rise out of me, I’d be pisssssed if my fiance hit the guy. It just adds to the whole mess, and gives them the reaction they’re looking for. However, if he kicked me hard enough that I’m in legit pain, I wouldn’t argue with the guy getting a swift smack.

      • winosaurusrex says:

        I don’t care to be honest. If someone kicked me on purpose-whether or not it hurt, I’ve attack back. We’re not in kindergarten anymore where you pull someone’s hair to say you like them. In the real world you do not touch much less kick someone for no reason. And if you do then expect consequences.

        The paps are horrible what they say and do and then call assault when their target snaps. It seems to me that most (not all, Sean Penn and Alec Baldwin really need to get a hold on their rage issues for example) attacks on the paps are warranted. When you’re being harassed day and night then eventually you are going to snap-and it’s not like the celeb can get restraining orders against these stalkers.

  17. Musi says:

    His girlfriend is a famewhore. A big one. That aside no one/woman needs to be kicked. Well good both were charged.

    • ORLY says:

      She fails at famewhoring then because most of us have no idea who she is. 🙂

      • She probably has to use ALL of her famewhoring skills to the max, because this is the first time I’ve ever seen a pap pic of her or Sam Worthington. I didn’t think that he still made movies after Avatar, lol.

      • Dash says:

        She is massively famous in Australia, but no where else. Our tabloids and mags write about her non stop. Sam is a private guy so they’re a weird match. As soon as her and Sam were official he suddenly had an Instagram account and was getting photographed every day. She probably called that paparazzo and didn’t tell Sam.

  18. Jade says:

    Poor Lara I hope she’s all right, they just moved to New York to get away from all the pap attention in Australia, the media are just disgusting pigs to her here.

    • v says:

      Seriously??? She’s like the wannabe Kim Kardashian of Australia. Thirsty

    • allons-y alonso says:

      Oh please. Bingle is a wannabe fame monger and she can’t even do that. Her awful as sin reality show was bloody cancelled after a few eps.

    • Penny says:

      Dude, she literally begs paps to come down and photograph her on the beach, and she’s at the point now when mags like Woman’s Day and New Idea won’t even pay her for stories, so she’s giving it away for free.

      She has absolutely no career without the paps and the trashy mags.

      • I'm With The Band says:

        +1. She’s only famous here in Australia because she’s a fame whore. She has zero talent and is as dumb as a bag of hair. It won’t be long until the rest of the world collectively sighs and facepalms whenever her name is mentioned. Oh, and expect a number of driving offences to be committed in the US in the near future.

      • KromBoom says:

        Agree. I think she wanted some press in the USA and this is the only way she could get it. I actually watched some of her reality show and think she is so gorgeous – very Swedish 70s model – but was disappointed by her brain.

  19. Renee28 says:

    This story sounds fishy. Why would the photographer just randomly kick her? And I’m really surprised she’s a model.

  20. The Original Mia says:

    If the pap kicked his girlfriend, assaulted his girlfriend, he deserved a punch. There’s no excuse for that.

  21. BreeinSEA says:

    It happened at 5:30 pm do we really think he was drunk? I would have done the same as him sober

  22. Dawn says:

    So I applaud Sam! They were walking out of a bar, the pap was rude and kicked the girlfriend and isn’t that what boyfreinds do when someone attacks their girlfriend? Good for him, he can pay the fine and so can the pap. Now if he did this when they were walking the red carpet or if the paps were called to cover them I would feel differently.

  23. ItSetsYou says:

    His wife is really hot!

  24. Christine says:

    He just doesn’t have “it”….very blah

  25. SK says:

    Okay, I think it’s important to add that the pap allegedly kicked her in the HEAD! I don’t even know how that works; but any guy I know would punch a dude that kicked their girlfriend/wife/partner in the head!! Apparently she wasn’t seriously injured; but still.

  26. Lux says:

    I can’t help loling over the fact that he’s dating Lara bingle. She’s so desperate.

  27. BackstageBitchy says:

    That woman, the one in these photos, is a “model”!? Um, no. That woman, in these photos, is sopposedly 20-something!? N-O. Someone’s pr is pulling the wool…

  28. Snowpea says:

    These two are pretty famous in Australia but they’re still both dicks, really.

    Lara is a simple girl from ‘The Shire’ who is really only famous for one dodgy tourism campaign, for being engaged to an Aussie cricketer and for being a TERRIBLE driver. Google ‘Lara Bingle driving offences’ for a hilarious pictorial review on her many driving transgressions.

    Worthington is an arrogant talentless ass who thinks the sun shines outta his you know where…so they really are perfectly matched.

    How embarassing these two are overseas getting international press for such stupidity. They really should stay at home and just hang out in Bondi, where they won’t get harassed that much 😉

  29. Lex says:

    Hhaha unrelated but Lara Bingle is the biggest piece of trash I think we Australians have ever had the pleasure of deporting (well not officially sadly… she just moved).
    She is all round disgusting, unattractive, fame hungry and just… gross.

    Sam Worthington is aiiiiight…
    If you guys don’t like him, go and watch the 2000 film ‘Bootmen’. You might not be able to look past the absolutely gorgeous and charming Adam Garcia though! Woo wooooo!