Reporter suspected of assaulting Brad Pitt out of job

A reporter who was jailed on suspicion of battery after rushing up to and touching actor Brad Pitt in Hollywood this week is out of a job, his employer said Thursday.

Vitalii Sediuk, the Ukrainian infamous for red carpet pranks, was previously fired from his reporter job with Ukrainian television channel 1+1 after jumping under actress America Ferrera’s dress at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, a spokesman told CNN.

Sediuk was already on a form of probation and prosecutors are now preparing new charges for his arrest in Hollywood Wednesday, the network quoted spokesman Rob Wilcox as saying.

Witnesses to the incident saw a man from the fan area jump over a barrier onto the red carpet at the El Capitan Theatre and rush at Pitt, touching him briefly before security guards wrestled him back across the barrier.

The man was led away in handcuffs and arrested on suspicion of battery, said Los Angeles police spokeswoman Nuria Venegas, who did not know the suspect’s name. She could only confirm that he made contact with Pitt.

After the incident, Pitt carried on greeting fans and walked into the theater.

Pitt’s longtime partner Angelina Jolie stars in “Maleficent,” Disney’s new live action spin on its animated classic “Sleeping Beauty” – the premiere of which the star was attending at the time of the incident.

Before the incident, Jolie told The Associated Press that the El Capitan is like a local theater for herself, Pitt and their kids, who usually don’t attend her premieres but did Wednesday night.

“Well, oddly, we usually go to the El Capitan, that’s where we take the kids. That’s the closest theater to us,” Jolie said. “This is the first time they were able to come to mommy’s premiere.”

(With the Associated Press)