Singer Justin Timberlake was accosted Tuesday while arriving at the Louis Vuitton show at Paris Fashion Week with his wife, actor Jessica Biel.
Ukrainian prankster Vitalii Sediuk, who describes himself on Instagram as an “Entertainment Hollywood Reporter,” grabbed Timberlake’s right leg as he approached the show, held in the courtyard of the Louvre. Security guards quickly pulled Sediuk away, and Timberlake and Biel appeared to laugh off the incident as they continued walking.
Sediuk has pulled numerous similar stunts before, including attempting to kiss Will Smith on a Moscow red carpet in 2012, crashing the stage during Adele’s acceptance speech at the 2013 Grammys and grabbing both Leonardo di Caprio and Bradley Cooper around the legs at separate red carpet events in 2014.
The same year, he jumped under America Ferrera’s dress on the Cannes red carpet, after which he was fired from his job as a reporter with Ukrainian television channel 1+1.
In 2016, Sediuk grabbed Gigi Hadid from behind and lifted her into the air as she left a show during Milan Fashion Week. Several days later, he rushed Kim Kardashian in Paris, seemingly attempting to kiss her rear end.
After grabbing Timberlake on Tuesday, Sediuk resisted characterization of the incident as an attack. On his Instagram story, he wrote, “Before media says that my prank was an “attack” (as always), I want to explain what attack means. This summer my friends and me were attacked and injured by an aggressive homophobe at a gay beach in Kyiv.”
Posting close-up photos of scratches and bruises, Sediuk said police “did nothing” while Ukrainian TV channels did not cover the incident. “I hope now something will change to LGBTG community in my country and all over the world feels safe.”
He went on to post a photo of himself grabbing Timberlake’s foot with the caption, “Polishing Justin’s shoes like….”