Sam Worthington reveals paparazzi stress in new pre-arrest interview

‘WE handle it by being quiet,’ Sam Worthington says of paparazzi intrusion in this interview from just two weeks before his arrest.

Bingle and Worthington made their red carpet debut back in January. Picture: Getty Images

SAM Worthington has spoken about he and partner Lara Bingle’s volatile interactions with the tabloid media, in a newly-released interview that took place just two weeks before the couple’s infamous paparazzi scuffle.

“She’s a good partner in crime,” he said of Bingle in the May issue of GQ Australia magazine.

Pressed on the topics of marriage and children, Worthington refused to give anything away: “My private life stays private.” However, he was much more open to talking about the paparazzi and the toll they take on their relationship.

“My life at the moment is to have a bunch of parasites follow us around for personal and monetary gain. They photograph us shopping or getting a pizza delivered. OK, it’s a byproduct of my job, but I don’t need to play their game,” he said.

While Worthington isn’t keen to talk publicly about Bingle, the pair frequently shared loved-up pics on their Instagram accounts.

“It gets under my skin when they yell abuse at my girl, just to get a rise out of her. That’s too much. We handle it by being quiet and getting on with our day-to-day stuff, but of course I’m protective of Lara. All we want is a little space for ourselves.”

Evidently, the pair’s game plan of ‘being quiet’ faltered just two weeks later, when on February 23 they were involved in a scuffle with paparazzi photographer Sheng Li that resulted in Worthington’s arrest.

In the interview, also speaks about his involvement with the White Shirt Day campaign, which aims to raise funds and awareness for the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation. Worthington’s own mother, Jeanne, fought a battle with the disease. While she’s since recovered, it was an experience that rocked Worthington and his family.

“Mum’s cancer battle struck at the heart of life and death for me. She said, ‘I’m not going to let this disease control how I live.’ I might not have agreed with the way Mum chose to handle her treatment at the time but, she taught me the best way to help her was to stop being all ‘woe is me’, so we did, and everyone in our family got stronger by staying positive together,” he said.

You can read the full interview in the May issue of GQ, out Monday April 14.

White Shirt Day takes place on May 1 — CLICK HERE for more information.

Sam Worthington on the cover of the May issue of GQ magazine.