VANCOUVER, Canada — A photographer attempting to snap photos of Jennifer Aniston has made allegations of racism against the star’s staff.
Rik Fedyck tells the Globe and Mail that Aniston’s staffer repeatedly called his girlfriend, who is Asian, a “chink.”
The alleged incident happened Monday while Fedyck was trying to shoot photos of Aniston arriving on the set of her new film “Traveling,” which started production in Vancouver this week.
Fedyck, who has made headlines in the past for an incident involving Denise Richards, says his initial run-in with Aniston’s staff happened Monday morning, when he was in his car with his girlfriend.
He tells Globe and Mail he was trying to drive away from the hotel where the shoot is taking place, but the staffer stepped in front of his car and later followed him as he drove circles through the downtown area.
When he returned alone to try to get a shot of the 38-year-old actress, he alleges the same man approached him, called him names and asked him, “Where’s your chink girlfriend?”
Fedyck alleges the staffer repeated the epithet 15 to 20 times.
On Tuesday morning, Fedyck filed a complaint with the Vancouver police.
“It’s something that we’re looking into, but it doesn’t appear that there’s anything that’s going to result in charges,” Vancouver police spokesman Constable Howard Chow tells Globe and Mail.
An account of the incident was posted on the Web site for the Los Angeles photography agency Fedyck shoots for, which attracted dozens of postings, including comments such as “I’m an Asian Canadian and this makes me sick. You don’t…come to our country and say [stuff] like this.”
A few years ago, Fedyck became known for a much-publicized incident involving Richards. On Nov. 8, 2006, officers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) were called to the River Rock Casino in Richmond, B.C., where Richards was making a movie. After seeing some photographers taking her picture from a nearby balcony, she apparently confronted them, grabbed one of their laptop computers and threw it over the balcony. The laptop landed near two elderly women, who were treated for minor injuries.
The RCMP did not press charges against Richards, but Fedyck and another photographer sued and the lawsuit was settled last year.
Fedyck says he has no plans to sue this time around.
“I’m just looking for respect. These people — they came from L.A., they tried to intimidate me and in doing so they called my girlfriend racist remarks,” he says. “I would like an apology for the disrespect to my girl.”
