Australian actor Sam Worthington appeared in a NY court yesterday to face assault charges following a weekend incident in which he punched a paparazzo in the face. Worthington claimed that the photographer, Sheng Li, had kicked his girlfriend and that he was acting in her defense. Li’s lawyer maintained that Sam and his presumed wife, Australian reality star Lara Bingle, went after his client. Video taken by Li which was posted online seems to support Li’s version of events. Bingle was shown repeatedly approaching Li, who told her not to touch him. You can hear Worthington screaming at Li not to kick his wife, and the camera drops to the ground as Worthington hits Li. So if it’s true that Li kicked Bingle, he seems to have done it as a defensive maneuver.
In court yesterday, both Worthington and Li were formally charged with assault and released. Worthington was also hit with a six month restraining order which legally bars him from contacting Li. Here’s more:
Worthington confronted Li, 37, last Sunday around 5 p.m. after the photog got into a scuffle with the actor’s stunning girlfriend, Lara Bingle, outside a Greenwich Ave. bar.
The 26-year-old Bingle claimed Li kicked her in the shin and tailed her “on a public street for approximately four hours,” according to court papers.
Worthington, 37, was charged with assault in the third degree, attempted assault in the third degree, and harassment in the second degree.
Worthington punched the photog several times, leaving Li with a cut to his noise and substantial pain, according to a criminal complaint.
The film star, after a cameo appearance at Manhattan Criminal Court Wednesday, was ordered released on his own recognizance.
The judge ordered Worthington to stay away from Li for six months.
He’s due back in court on May 8.
Worthington didn’t say a word as he dodged a phalanx of photographers on his way into and out of the building.
Li, who was also charged with misdemeanor counts of assault and harassment, was released without bail Monday.His lawyer, Ron Kuby, said he believes a video of the altercation shows that Worthington was the aggressor.
Li’s lawyer also said that he hopes that the DA’s office sees the video of the incident and will drop the charges. The video does make it look like Li is innocent. He may have followed Bingle and Worthington for half the day, but he didn’t seem to instigate the violence.
This isn’t Worthington’s first run-in with the law. He was arrested in November, 2012 for pushing a doorman at a bar.
From what our Australian readers have told me, Bingle is known for calling the paparazzi to document her beach outings. She’s a Kim Kardashian type, except not as popular and well known. So it’s especially hypocritical of her to complain about being followed for a day, when she’s courted the paparazzi for years.
photo credit: WENN.com and FameFlynet
I just can’t get over how jacked her face looks.
exactly she looked better in the swimsuit photo. Maybe just bad make up but she looks like she is approaching 40 not 26.
I think it’s just the makeup, and her facial expression. I’m not a fan of the girl, but she usually looks “fresher” than that.
Less hassle and cheaper not to react,right Kanye?
I think she wanted press attention and well, she got it. Good luck to them, they will need it.
Four hours?! I’m staring to understand the mindset of paparazzi a bit more; I’d have to be pretty arrogant not to just give up on life if my job was following Sam Worthington and some woman for Four Hours!!! I assume that’s for Aussie tabloids because no one else could possibly care that much!
Maybe they’ve paid him and he told them that time was up and that he didn’t want to follow them any longer^^
So she’s supposedly 26. And Margot Robbie 23. Is the sun in Australia that aging or do the people pretend to be a decade younger than they actually are?
Heavy makeup can age a person. I think that’s what is going on with Bingle and Robbie.
His coat in the first pictures is amazing. Can someone ID it??
YES
Is that woman in the black dress the same woman as in the other photos? She looks like a totally different person to me, decades older.
I think I am team nobody in this case. Losers all.
I think it’s her. She looks like his mother that photo. This is the most attention this guy has ever gotten. I hope they enjoy it while it lasts.
Yes, he’s not very attractive at all. And she does look like his, or her own, mother in that picture. Weird.
Why do I have a feeling they are enjoying the attention?
Yes, it´s all the same peson. I´m Australian, and I think the comparison to Kim K is a good one. Lara even had a dreadful reality show on Australian TV last year.
I can´t see how she could possibly be 26…if I remember correctly, she was the ¨face¨ of the Australian Tourism Board´s infamous ¨Where the bloody hell are you?¨ campaign, which must have been 7 or 8 years ago, and she looked like she was in her late 20´s when she did that.
I think she was also engaged to the captain of the Australian cricket team a few years ago, but I´m a bit blurry on those details. The engagement ended in some kind of drama; I think she flushed the ring down the toilet.
Can´t believe that Sam Worthington married her!!!
She is 26, she really was only 19 when the tourism ad came out and when she was hooking up with Brendan Fevola, and 22 when she got engaged to Clarke.
She’s always looked older than she is, but now she’s had a little work and it’s made her look like a 45yr old Sydney trophy wife.
I have never cared a lick about Sam Worthington. Don’t find him talented. Never found him even remotely attractive , in fact he barely has a face his ass is so plain and nondescript, but I am finding this story and coupling fascinating for some reason. I suspect because I can sense the train wreck approaching. I feel like I can already see a stalled truck full of diesel fuel broken down on the tracks and the D train is fast approaching. Just sitting here munching on my popcorn waiting for the big kaboom!
There was a still picture of Sam where he is looking back when she is attacking the photographer, like he is looking for help or maybe he is looking to see if anyone was watching. I think she got Sam all jacked up by saying Li was harassing her and kicked her. …little poor damsel in distress, “save me, Sam”. The tape shows a whole other story and look who takes the fall for it with the law. Hope she is worth it, Sam.
I think this is a possibility too. Sam didn’t seem to be anywhere around in the early parts of that video, so why say specifically, “You kicked my wife” unless she’s telling him that’s what happened. Also, the pap was arrested AND charged with assault too. That video doesn’t show everything, so I think it’s very difficult to use just that to make definitive judgments either way.
Is it just me or does she resemble Brooke Mueller at a certain angle?
why do i find him so attractive? He is like a guilty pleasure to me.
she is frigging terrifying though. and no way is she 26
I love Lara.
Yes, she’s fame whorey and pretty dumb but I do think she’s real. The reality show is not how she became famous- it kind if backfired. She’s known for her successful career and chequered love life.
She left Michael Clarke because she said she felt she was living his dreams, not her own.
Oh, and a few bad-photos/ bad make up jobs aside, she is stunning. I’ve seen her in person (along with many models/celebs etc as I’m a make-up artist) and her colouring, her bone structure, she is (in my opinion) very beautiful.
I thought Michael Clarke dumped her because she was having a negative impact on his cricket career – too much attention seeking, media-baiting, demanding he leave in the middle of touring commitments to be with her, etc.
Lara is famous for being who she dates. Shane Watson, having an affair with married Brendan Fevola & having her nude photos leaked, Michael Clarke, and now Sam Worthington.