Cops: No Shutterbugs Involved in Madonna Mishap

Update

Cops: No Shutterbugs Involved in Madonna Mishap

Mon., Apr. 20, 2009 3:30 PM PDT by Josh Grossberg

INFdaily.com

Was Madonna just horsing around?

Despite her rep's claim that a pesky paparazzo was to blame for Madonna's weekend fall from a horse in the Hamptons, the officers who responded to the scene said the Material One made no mention of any shutterbug involvement.

"She was a victim of a fall from a horse. We have no mention of the paparazzi," Officer Chris Brenner, a spokesman for the Southampton Village Police Department, tells E! News. "We got a call that the subject fell off the horse and treated it as an aided case.

The call came in at 4:24 p.m. Saturday and, per standard operating procedure, Southampton's finest showed up to assist emergency medical personnel.

"Above complainant was a victim of fall from horse. Unknown injury. Bridgehampton Fire Department/ambulance responded and transported to Southampton Hospital," said Brenner, quoting the police report.

That directly contradicts the statement to E! News from longtime Madonna spinmeister Liz Rosenberg, who said a photographer "jumped out of the bushes to photograph the singer," spooking the horse and causing the spill.

Madonna was treated for "minor injuries and bruises" at the hospital and released later Saturday, the publicist added.

Rosenberg did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment on the contradiction between her account and the official record.

Also begging to differ with Rosenberg is the freelance photographer who was snapping the scene. Thomas Hinton told the New York Daily News, "I arrived more than 10 minutes after she fell, and I was shooting from the street," he said. "I don't know what [her rep] is talking about."

And according to the New York Post, which published exclusive photos of the immediate aftermath, the 50-year-old Madonna was jumping hurdles prior to the fall.

Perhaps Rosenberg was just trying to cover for Madonna's questionable equestrian skills. After all, the entertainer fell from her mount on her 47th birthday in 2005 and wound up breaking her collarbone, cracking three ribs and fracturing her wrist—and nary a photog in sight.

(Originally published April 20, 2009, at 1:35 p.m. PT)

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