Laura Linney was left stunned after an incident with an autograph seeker turned violent at New York Fashion Week.
The Ozark star was waiting for her car after exiting the Christian Siriano 15th anniversary show on Friday at the Pierre Hotel on the Upper East Side in New York City when she was approached by a man who appeared to be demanding an autograph. In a video shared by an onlooker via TikTok, the man seems to nudge the actress in the back with his pen to get her attention. However, he’s rebuffed by another individual standing by her side, who ET has learned is a fashion week team member.
After the handler steps between her and the man, denying his request for an autograph, the attacker then punches him hard in the back of the head. As many in the crowd can be heard gasping in horror, Linney places a hand on his shoulder and asks him, “Are you OK?” With a smile, he reassures her, “I’m fine” and escorts her to a car.
ET has learned the handler who was assigned to Linney is fine as is the actress.
The event was a star-studded affair, with Linney sharing the front row alongside Janet Jackson, Alicia Silverstone, Rosie Perez, Avril Lavigne and Kesha. Also in attendance were Quinta Brunson, Laverne Cox, Sarah Hyland and luxury jeweler Josh Levkoff, who designed the jewelry for the runway show.
See Linney’s frightening post-show encounter in the video below.
@mickmicknyc Never seen anything like this before! Today at outside the Christian Siriano NYFW event. That’s a professional autographers getting out of control once he was denied! Not okay! And look how quickly everyone went back to normal right after!!
Earlier that day, ET’s Rachel Smith was with Linney on the red carpet, where she gushed over Siriano.
“I think first and foremost, you know, beyond his talents is his excellent good nature. He’s a spectacular human being,” she said. “I mean, how he spends his time, what he chooses to concentrate on, it’s just really exemplary and really wonderful for the fashion industry.”
Linney went on to call him “a warm, inviting man who has his priorities in the right place” while raving about the experience of working with him.
“He looks at each person truly individually and designs for them,” she explained. “When he dresses me, there’s such care that’s taken and he knows kind of exactly what to put me in. So it’s a real privilege and a pleasure to know him.”
For his part, Siriano told ET that he believes fashion should always be fun.
“Clothes should make people feel great about themselves,” he shared. “That should be the easy part of their day, not the hard part. It should be the fun — the fun, the glamour, the fantasy. I guess that’s what I want to see more of, and that includes every person.”
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