Brittny Gastineau sparked concern when she stepped out in L.A. with a black eye on Tuesday, June 10, following a physical altercation with Marquis Lewis, a street artist who goes by the name Retna. Not long after, Lewis' attorney offered his account of the fight in an interview with Us Weekly; now a source close to Gastineau is weighing in, too.
"They had a heated argument, but in no way was she the aggressor," the insider tells Us of Kim Kardashian's BFF, noting that Gastineau has other bruises besides the one visible on her face. Lewis' lawyer, Michael Goldstein, insists his client wasn't the aggressor, either, telling Us, "Look, the guy was down and out—he had just had surgery—he was debilitated, lying in bed."
As for claims that Gastineau was trying to get attention by showing up with a black eye at known celeb hotspots Craig's and Mr. Chow? "That's where her friends were," the source tells Us. "She had been hiding out for a while. She wasn't responding to friends for days."
The whole ordeal, the insider adds, has "been a lot to deal with." For Retna, too, apparently. "Lewis just wants to respect her privacy and he holds no ill will towards her and he chose not to get the police involved, even though he sustained injuries to his face, hand, and ear," Goldstein previously told Us.
He added, "Ms. Gastineau is still texting Mr. Lewis to this day. She continues to send him text messages and to call him regularly."