Why Did Louis Tomlinson Attack Paparazzi and Fans in an Airport?

Why Did Louis Tomlinson Attack Paparazzi and Fans in an Airport?
Louis Tomlinson arrested for fighting paparazzi and fans in airport, claims he was protecting girlfriend Eleanor Calder. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Did Louis Tomlinson really attack bystanders in an airport because he was protecting his girlfriend? Perhaps the angst of not having a new One Direction song is getting to him. Though Zayn and Harry Styles have been ramping up their star profiles, not everyone has been as busy working.

One Direction have been missing in action as a group since the official start of the bands hiatus in March, 2016. They haven’t been too clear about next steps for bringing the band back together since the break started, and not all of 1D are necessarily cut out for solo work. That could be one reason for Louis’s distress.

Tomlinson is purported to have attacked paparazzi at LAX airport. The One Direction veteran and his newly returned girlfriend, Eleanor Calder, were in the baggage claim area when they were surrounded by fans and photographers. Two separate scuffles are said to have broken out involving Louis and his girlfriend. The pair had just returned to Los Angeles after recently reuniting. They first broke up in 2015.

Tomlinson can be seen in video footage posted by Radar Online fighting with both men and women, though not all the details are clear yet. An arrest record posted to Twitter says Louis was arrested at 11:45 p.m. Friday. Video footage shows Louis and a photographer toppling to the floor, the photographer laying flat and clutching his head, before Louis gets up and rips a young woman away from his girlfriend and onto the floor.

Airport security look helpless to stop the commotion. The footage shows a tangled mess of falling bodies and flailing arms and feet, what must come as a bit of a shock for fans used to seeing the pop singer’s softer side on display at performances and in music videos.

The young women who claims she was struck by Louis was tussling with Calder about stopping her from recording Louis’s fight with the paparazzi before Louis himself ran over to settle matters. After the incident, the young woman can be seen in photos on The Sun with ruffled clothing trying to fix her glasses and showing marks on her face.

Louis was released from custody just a few hours after the arrest, at 1:32 a.m. early Saturday. Louis is scheduled to appear in court on March 29. He could face a fine and six month in prison, if convicted. Tomlinson is 25-years-old, and has been with One Direction since its beginnings in 2010, when he was 17-years-old. Louis Tomlinson is a father, with his first child born in January of last year.