Harrelson Fined For Assault

Woody Harrelson has been found guilty of assaulting two paparazzi - Star magazine photographer Steven Connolly and freelancer cameraman Paul Adao - by a court in Boston. After the judge ruled in favour of the plaintiffs, he left it to the jury to decide the amount of damages he should pay. The assault took place at Martha's Vineyard Airport in 1995; Connolly tried to snap Harrelson with his then two-year-old daughter, and he snatched his camera and removed the film. Harrelson testified that he was trying to protect the privacy of his daughter, but didn't strike either of the men. "I decided I was going to take the film out," he said, "I didn't want him to have film of my daughter." He accused the photographer of staging the altercation. "He fell to the floor like a World Wrestling Federation flop," the actor said, adding that Connolly "might have a future in my profession." The judge left it to the jury to decide how much the incident was worth to the photographers and whether Harrelson meant to destroy their equipment. They awarded Connolly $4,826.30 in damages (about $3000). Adao received just $2 - both sums were markedly different from the ones awarded to the photographers in the recent case against Johnny Depp. It may be a result of Harrelson's saying that they were little better than "stalkers," and adding "In my mind, they're no different from the French paparazzi in the case of Princess Di." The amount awarded is hardly one that will leave him in financial trouble, as the actor was quick to admit. "I couldn't be much happier," he said outside the courthouse on Friday, "I felt from the beginning it was a matter of principle. It was about protecting my daughter's privacy."