Sam Worthington and Lara Bingle Hit With $10 Million Paparazzi Lawsuit, But Did They Deserve It? [Video]

Aussie actor Sam Worthington and his model girlfriend Lara Bingle made news earlier this year when Worthington was arrested during a violent scuffle with paparazzi as they trailed him and Bingle throughout the streets of New York City. Sam and Lara were shocked when New York Police Department arrived on the scene to escort Worthington away in the back of a cop car, but they are probably even more shocked to see that months later Sheng Li, the photographer involved in the confrontation, is suing the pair for $10 million, reported Australian paper News.

Whether paparazzi oversteps its boundaries or not is fiercely debated by the public, but thankfully, in this instance we can at least make up our own minds about who was at fault in the altercation. Below you can watch Bingle’s frustration grow as she is pursued through the streets until she gets physical before Sam rushes over to get involved.

As you can see from the video, many of the people who saw the incident occur were siding with Worthington and Bingle immediately after, despite the fact that Li continues to follow the couple through the streets long after several people have told him to leave them alone. Mark J. Heller, Li’s lawyer, released a metaphor-laden statement about the lawsuit against Worthington and Bingle earlier this week.

“Fashion Week has attracted mega-movie star Sam Worthington and his girlfriend…to Manhattan like bees to honey. However, they both got swatted with a federal lawsuit, which I filed on behalf of Sheng Li…who was assaulted by theAvatar/Terminator star and his girlfriend…At the time of the assault, the internet was flooded with images of the beat down which Sheng Li suffered at the hands of Worthington and Bingle and now they both will have starring roles as defendants in a federal court of law.”

Unfortunately for Sam, previous run-ins he has had with the law may negatively affect his chances of evading the lawsuit in court. Last year at Atlanta restaurant The Vortex Bar and Grill, Worthington pushed a security guard two times before being pepper-sprayed in order to defuse the situation. Sam was put in handcuffs until authorities later arrived at the scene to take him into the local detention facility. Charges against Worthington were dropped in this incident because the security guard failed to appear in court — though this seems unlikely in Lara and Sam’s lawsuit with Sheng.

What do you think? Did Sam Worthington and Lara Bingle have a right to bat off Sheng Li?

[Image via 2DayFM]