LOS ANGELES (CN) - A paparazzo claims Woody Harrelson assaulted him with the paparazzo's own video camera as he filmed the actor on a Hollywood street at 11 p.m. for the celebrity gossip site TMZ.com.
Josh Levine claims Harrelson put a hand over his video camera "and then thrust it into the ribs of plaintiffs breaking the camera." Then, he says, Harrelson "strangled plaintiff by placing both hands around plaintiff's neck while uttering threats of severe physical abuse." Then, he says, Harrelson told his bodyguard "to 'rough up' plaintiff," and the man did it.
Levine says he was working for TMZ.com at the time. TMZ is a celebrity gossip site owned by AOL and Telepictures Productions, both of which are owned by Time Warner.
Levine wants $2.5 million plus lost wages. He is represented in Superior Court by Cyrus Nownejad with Cyrus & Cyrus of Beverly Hills.
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