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One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson had a rough Friday night at LAX. The 25-year-old pop star was arrested for battery after attacking a paparazzo Tomlinson felt got too close to him and his girlfriend.
"The paparazzi provoked and caused the altercation that occurred with [Louis],” Martin Singer, an attorney for Tomlinson, told Billboard in a statement. Tomlinson is said to have assaulted the photographer by the legs, causing him to fall back and hit his head.
“It's not the first time that a paparazzi has created an altercation with a celebrity,” Singer continued. “While the altercation was going on with the paparazzi, three other individuals were attacking his girlfriend during this incident and he came to her defense."
As TMZ adds, during Tomlinson’s bout with the paparazzo, a female witness started recording the scene and Tomlinson’s girlfriend, Eleanor Calder. The witness and Calder then got into their own physical fight.
Airport security made a citizen’s arrest of Tomlinson and Calder, and waited for authorities. Tomlinson was taken to a nearby jail, Billboard continues. Calder’s fate is unclear.
As People notes, Tomlinson was booked for misdemeanor battery charges at 12:38 a.m., Saturday morning. He was released on $20,000 bail at 1:32 a.m., and is scheduled to appear in court on March 29.