Dame Edna Chides Alter Ego

Australian actor Barry Humphries, dressed as Dame Edna Everage, appears at a press conference in San Francisco on Aug. 25, 2004. Humphries, punched a photographer who pursued him outside a Sydney, Australia, restaurant,Wednesday, May 3, 2006, his publicist said. The 72-year-old Australian actor struck celebrity freelance photographer Malcolm Ladd, 54, said publicist Suzie Howie.(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) (Marcio Jose Sanchez - AP)

SYDNEY, Australia -- Dame Edna Everage has issued a tongue-in-cheek rebuttal of a claim that her alter ego punched a photographer.

A publicist for Barry Humphries, who has played the purple-haired Dame Edna since the 1950s, confirmed Wednesday that Humphries had hit photographer Malcolm Ladd.

"Handbags fly as Barry lashes out" ran the headline in the Daily Telegraph newspaper. However, Dame Edna, known for her extravagant behavior and questionable fashion sense, made light of the news.

"Poor Barry, desperate for publicity as usual," read an e-mail statement issued Thursday by publicist Suzie Howie in Dame Edna's name.

Ladd has said that Humphries punched his face Wednesday as he tried to take a close shot of the Australian actor outside Dee Bee's Cafe in Sydney's exclusive Double Way.

"Luckily I wasn't there, but I'm told he didn't deliberately hit the poor photographer but was pushing the camera away and his knuckles accidentally grazed the poor chap's cheeks," Dame Edna's statement said.

"I've never pushed a camera away. The papps (paparazzi) can invade my space whenever they like. I adore them, especially this little chap, because I've always had a weakness for ponytails. Call me old-fashioned. I'm sending Barry off for counseling. He is a rageaholic and a tragic attention seeker."

New South Wales state police had not received a complaint about the punch, a police spokeswoman said on customary condition of anonymity.

Ladd's photos of Humphries at lunch appeared in Thursday editions of News Corp. newspapers in Australia.

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