Splash News, the paparazzi agency that specializes in the zits-and-all shots found in Star and Us Weekly, turned its lenses on celeb-blogger Mario Lavandeira Tuesday. With cameras blazing, a Splash agent approached him at his Hollywood haunt, the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, and handed him a manilla envelope, just like on Law & Order.
But it didn't contain a subpoena or even real "court papers," despite reports by several gossip blogs, including one that has a business relationship with Lavandeira (aka Perez Hilton). According to multiple sources, the envelope actually contained a series of cease-and-desist letters—the equivalent of junk mail in Perez's world. The only difference was the film crew.
Lavandeira, caught mid-muffin bite and wearing a baseball cap and retiree-style tracksuit, responded, "Go ahead! Sue me. It's good for publicity," according to witnesses.
And that's the plan. In the latest round of saber rattling targeting Lavandeira specifically and all paparazzi pic-pilfering bloggers by proxy, Splash News President Kevin Smith tells Radar that he's fed up and plans to file an actual suit against Lavandeira soon.
[Video of Splash "serving" Lavandeira after the jump]