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Kendall Jenner denies alleged paparazzi punch incident: 'I didn't touch him'

'I was so annoyed. All I ask for is just a bubble of space to breathe and he disrespected that,' explains Jenner

Maya Oppenheim
Tuesday 22 March 2016 08:54 EDT
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Jenner explained she had been concealing her face while leaving the club with fellow model Gigi Hadid
Jenner explained she had been concealing her face while leaving the club with fellow model Gigi Hadid (Getty Images)

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Kendall Jenner has defended herself after reports she allegedly punched a paparazzo for getting too close for comfort during Paris Fashion Week.

In an attempt to clear up the “sensational headlines”, the reality TV star-turned-model denied hitting the man in a lengthy letter posted on her website on Monday.

“Even though you know about my anger towards the paparazzi - I didn't touch him!” wrote the 20-year-old.

Jenner explained she had been concealing her face while leaving the club with fellow model Gigi Hadid. “I was super sweaty after dancing in the club all night (the last thing on earth I wanted was to have my photo taken at that moment!)”.

Despite this, Jenner says the paparazzo continued to pursue her. “All of a sudden, this paparazzi took his camera and started taking pictures right below my face,” she recalls. “It was in my personal space, like centimeters from my body. I was so annoyed. All I ask for is just a bubble of space to breathe, and he disrespected that”.

In the end, the Los Angeles-born model, who has walked for Chanel, Gucci, Givency, Balmain, Victoria's Secret and more, says she was forced to seize the camera from him. “I grabbed his camera and pushed it away across my body, sort of trying to push and pull it out of his hand at the same time,” she explains. “Of course, that side motion with my arm is why all of the pictures look like punches were flying. They totally weren't! I just wanted him and his camera out of my face!”

Following the incident, Jenner says she specifically asked the photographer to delete the photos but claims he refused until her security guard Mason intervened. “Mason made him agree to delete them and even forced him to apologize!”

“I wanted to be 100 per cent that the photos were gone for good because the paps can be sneaky," she went on. "Sometimes, they will press delete, and when the camera reconfirms if they actually want to delete it, they quickly press 'no' thinking celebrities won't realize it. He definitely deleted them, which I'm thankful for".

Jenner is the second youngest of the Kardashian clan and has been propelled into the media spotlight from a young age. A leading figure of the so-called “Instagirl Era”, the model has garnered a following of 52 million on Instagram and has the most liked Instagram post of all time.

Jenner closed the letter by stressing that violence is never her thing. “I get that they have a job to do, too - but I'd love it if they gave me a break every now and then,” she explained.

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