Former Hollywood child star Thora Birch was embroiled in a highly charged public confrontation over the weekend, after a run-in with a persistent autograph hunter in Beverly Hills. The tense exchange, captured on video, saw the 43-year-old actress and her husband, Michael Adler, lose their composure following the BAFTA Tea Party event.
A Tense Exchange Escalates Rapidly
The incident, obtained by the Daily Mail, occurred shortly after Birch and Adler departed the BAFTA Tea Party at the Four Seasons hotel. The video begins mid-altercation, showing Birch screaming at the individual before her husband steps in to separate them. At one point, Birch steps between the two men to ask the autograph seeker if he is "from Israel," a question her later statement sought to clarify.
The footage captures Birch warning the man, "I'll f***ing knock you out," prompting Adler to pull her back. The autograph hunter then reminds the couple they are being filmed, to which Adler retorts, "Do I care?" The situation deteriorates as Adler loudly asks, "Are you threatening me?" after which the man falsely claims Adler hit him before the recording started, causing Adler to laugh in disbelief.
Attempts to De-escalate and Further Accusations
As Birch momentarily walks away, she storms back to confront the man again, shouting, "Did you just f***ing call him trash?" Adler continues to try and guide his wife away while arguing with the hunter over who made physical contact first. The autograph seeker then accuses Adler of tearing his photographs prior to the filming, demanding $30 in compensation.
Adler responds to the allegation of being touched with a stark retort: "Are you dead? You'd be dead if I hit you." The couple attempts to leave as the man follows them, yelling about his damaged photos, until a local resident intervenes to calm the situation, reminding them, "People live here."
An Eventual Resolution and Public Statement
In a final attempt to end the ordeal, Birch instructs her furious husband to go to their car. She then agrees to sign the autograph hunter's headshots, which he still claimed were ripped. As she signs, Adler addresses the camera directly, stating the individual had been hounding his wife "all weekend" and labelling him and his associate as "bad people."
The video concludes with Birch telling the man, "Take it as compensation and don't be a d**k." Following the incident, Birch and Adler provided a statement to TMZ expressing regret. They claimed they were followed from a private area and that Birch's question about Israel was due to her being Jewish with close family there, an attempt to "place an accent." The couple ended their statement with a deep apology for the misunderstanding and the escalation.
