Brad Pitt Breaks Silence on Maleficent Premiere Prankster: "The Nutter Was Trying to Bury His Face in My Crotch"

"So I cracked him twice in the back of the head...enough to get his attention," actor explained why he had to take action against notorious red carpet interloper Vitalii Sediuk

By Natalie Finn Jun 03, 2014 12:07 AMTags
Brad Pitt, Vitalii SediukPacific Coast News, AKM-GSI

Vitalii Sediuk insists he isn't crazy. Brad Pitt doesn't sound convinced.

Speaking out for the first time since the notorious red carpet prankster got way too close for comfort at the L.A. premiere of Maleficent last week, Pitt has given his version of what went down when Sediuk breached the barrier that was in place to keep the crowd at bay.

"I was at the end of the line signing autographs, when out the corner of my eye I saw someone stage-diving over the barrier at me," the actor, whose entire family was in attendance that night, recalled the incident in a statement to People.

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"I took a step back; this guy had latched onto my lapels. I looked down and the nutter was trying to bury his face in my crotch, so I cracked him twice in the back of the head—not too hard—but enough to get his attention, because he did let go. I think he was then just grabbing for a hand hold because the guys were on him, and he reached up and caught my glasses."

LAPD cuffed and arrested Sediuk on the spot, and the following day the Ukrainian reporter pleaded no contest to battery and unlawful activity at a sporting or entertainment event. He was sentenced to three years' probation, a year of psychological counseling and 20 days of community labor.

Pitt also obtained an emergency restraining order against Sediuk, who once got impertinently close to Bradley Cooper's crotch as well, that remains in force.

"I don't mind an exhibitionist," Pitt's statement continued, "but if this guy keeps it up he's going to spoil it for the fans who have waited up all night for an autograph or a selfie, because it will make people more wary to approach a crowd. And he should know, if he tries to look up a woman's dress again, he's going to get stomped."

That dig was in regard to the last headline Sediuk made before the Pitt fracas, when he managed to poke his head under America Ferrera's long skirt while she was posing for pictures on the red carpet at the How to Train Your Dragon 2 premiere at the Cannes Film Festival last month.

Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

Still, the storied interloper maintains that he's just a big fan and was just trying to reach over the barrier to give Pitt a hug when he fell over the rail and security piled on immediately.

"I'm a normal guy," the 25-year-old said in a new interview. "I'm not crazy...I'm doing this for fun."

Sediuk also insists that he didn't "attack" Pitt or otherwise assault the actor, despite the legal charges leveled against him.

"I never hit, I never punched, I never slapped Brad Pitt in the face," he said. "This is absolutely false information."

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

The off-putting stunt, or Pitt's reaction, certainly didn't affect Maleficent's performance at the box office this past weekend.

Angelina Jolie's turn as the misunderstood "Mistress of All Evil," which has received very strong reviews, exceeded expectations with its nearly $70 million haul.

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