Entertainment
‘Hocus Pocus’ Actress Thora Birch Blows Up at Autograph Seeker on Video
TMZ.com
Actress Thora Birch got into a crazy, prolonged war of words with an autograph hound who got a little too aggressive for her husband Michael Benton Adler‘s liking … and the wild altercation was all caught on video.
The whole fiasco started when an autograph-seeker sought Thora’s signature outside the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills following the BAFTA Tea Party Saturday. Seems innocent enough, but here’s the thing … in the video, Michael claims the man had been bothering Thora all weekend.
And it seems like Michael finally had enough … because we’re told he grabbed photos the guy was carrying of Thora and ripped them up, throwing the autograph-seeker into a frenzy.
Watch the video … Thora can be heard threatening, “I’ll f***ing knock you out,” while her hubby pulls her back.
Then, as Michael and the other guy stand toe-to-toe exchanging insults and accusations, Thora is heard saying, “What are you, from f***ing Israel?”
Yikes …
The guy answers he’s from Puerto Rico and proceeds to demand payment for his ripped photos. This goes on for 4 minutes until the couple walks away.
TMZ.com
But in a second video, cooler heads prevail. The autograph-seeker apparently followed the couple down the street, continuing to badger them for compensation. While Michael pleads for the man to “get the f*** away” from him, Thora eventually just signs the guy’s pictures.
TMZ.com
While Thora deals with the guy, Michael addresses the person recording, saying, “For all you people out there, don’t listen to this stuff. These people are wrong. They’re bad people. All we were trying to do is walk out.”
From the video, it looks like the “Hocus Pocus” star was able to work her magic and chill the fan out. Good thing she’s still got some tricks up her sleeve.
The couple tells TMZ … “Thora Birch and I wanted to address the incident Saturday. We are deeply regretful for its escalation. As we left an event, my wife, Thora, was accosted by a professional autograph seeker who followed us to our car from a private area. Thora was trying to deescalate the situation. She is Jewish and has close family in Israel and was simply trying to place an accent. Again, we deeply apologize for this being misunderstood.”