14 DAY TRIAL // Vitalii Sediuk looked relaxed and even managed to smirk in front of a judge in a LA County court, as he pled no contest to charges of battery and unlawful activity at an event, after he launched at and punched Brad Pitt in the face at the Hollywood premiere of “Maleficent” just a couple of days ago.
Below is the video of his hearing, which ended up with the judge sentencing him to community work, probation and a fine, TMZ reports.
Sediuk is a Ukrainian “journalist” whose gimmick to drawing attention to himself has been that of pulling various pranks on huge celebrities, usually on the red carpet. So far, he’s managed not to hurt anyone and some have even deemed his stunts borderline funny but, at the aforementioned premiere, he hit Pitt in the face, knocking off his sunglasses, which were broken in the ensuing melee.
The incident occurred as Pitt had come closer to the fans gathered on the side of the red carpet to sign autographs. He and 5 of his 6 children with Angelina Jolie were there, with Angelina herself, as she plays the title character in Disney’s live-action film.
Sediuk jumped over the barrier and got very close to Pitt and, though he didn’t hurt him, he could have if Pitt’s bodyguards hadn’t already been on high alert. Sediuk was cuffed and escorted off the premises, and was held in custody until this hearing.
Prosecutors planned from the start to try and put a stop on his “pranks,” so they gunned for getting him a lifetime Hollywood ban. They got to see their wish come true.
“[Sediuk] will do 20 days community labor [… and] 36 months probation, $220 [€161.3] in fines, and [was] ordered to stay 500 yards away from red carpets, movie premieres, and award shows,” TMZ informs.
A previous ban, resulting from his successful attempt at crashing the Grammys (when he walked up on stage and tried to take Adele’s statuette from her hands before he was stopped by Jennifer Lopez), stipulated that he wasn’t allowed to come close to the Staples Center and the LA Live complex.
“The judge instructed the Ukrainian prankster to stay away from Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie – and the Hollywood and Highland shopping center, where the Brad attack went down,” TMZ adds.
As you can see in the video, Sediuk didn’t seem too upset about what he’d done and the situation he’d gotten himself into. Considering the many pranks of this type he’s pulled so far, one could assume he’s used to landing himself in trouble.
Just recently, he tried to crawl under America Ferrara’s dress on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival 2014, and he managed to get access to the red carpet at the SAG Awards 2014, where he crotch-hugged Bradley Cooper, a move similar to one he did to Leonardo DiCaprio some months back, also at a movie premiere.
Sediuk attained international notoriety after he tried to kiss Will Smith on the mouth at a premiere, and was smacked on the face for his Audacity.