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Taryn Manning accused of wild attacks on friend; ‘OITNB’ star’s lawyer says friend is the problem

Taryn Manning arriving at the 67th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Microsoft Theater on Sept. 20.

Taryn Manning arriving at the 67th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Microsoft Theater on Sept. 20.

(Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times)
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Taryn Manning and her assistant/makeup artist, Holly Hartman, appear to be at it again, with the latter unsuccessfully petitioning a Los Angeles court for a restraining order against the actress over incidents that allegedly took place in New York.

In court documents obtained by TMZ Hartman reportedly said that Manning had "a death wish." She said that during one of the fights, Manning yelled, "Pick a knife. I'm wearing a white shirt; there will be a lot of blood. You will be famous for killing Taryn Manning."

In her application for the order, Hartman said the "Orange Is the New Black" star put her in a headlock, headbutted her in the face, whipped her with a wet towel and sprayed Windex in her eyes and mouth, TMZ reported, apparently in a number of altercations. The most recent conflict allegedly took place in November. An L.A judge dismissed the case this week, as the brawl — or brawls — allegedly took place in New York City, giving Hartman no legal standing in L.A.

Manning's attorney said in a statement obtained by The Times via her publicist Friday that the TRO request had already been denied by the court, and turned the tables on Hartman.

"The application for the order is suspect because Ms. Manning has had no contact with Ms. Hartman in many months due to Ms. Hartman's actions against Ms. Manning which are currently under criminal investigation in multiple jurisdictions," Manning's counsel said.

"These investigations have long predated these entirely fabricated allegations," the attorney continued. "Ms. Hartman is under investigation for stalking Ms. Manning and for theft and other crimes. It is clear that Ms. Hartman's camp has leaked these allegations which were not available publicly to elevate her own position and obscure her own wrongdoing."

Manning let a few tweets fly Friday morning that appeared to reference the situation obliquely — with at least the final one, about a friend sleeping with the actress' man, raising more questions than it answered.

In November 2014, Manning denied reports that she'd been arrested on suspicion of threatening to kill Jeanine Heller, a woman described as her former roommate and friend. A mutual order of protection had been granted to both women in July of that year when Manning pressed charges alleging that Heller had harassed her via texts and email.

"There are no charges against me. ... This is just further harassment," Manning tweeted at the time. "It is troubling that the system can be used to abuse the actual victim." Heller was arrested in November 2014 on charges of violating the restraining order. The next month, she pleaded guilty to contempt and agreed to six months' of mental-health treatment. Heller's attorney said his client wasn't stalking or harassing the actress, but simply was taking responsibility for a phone call she made that wasn't allowable under terms of the restraining order.

The actress was, however, arrested in October 2012 and two misdemeanor charges of assault and strangulation were filed against her following an altercation with Hartman. She spent a night in jail.

"Her assistant is also her longtime friend. They had a late-night argument, and it turned into a little bit of a physical altercation," her attorney said at the time, saying that Hartman didn't want to move forward with any charges.

The actress was later sentenced to one day of community service, with the promise that the charges would be dismissed if she stayed out of trouble for six months.

Follow Christie D'Zurilla on Twitter @theCDZ and Google+. Follow the Ministry of Gossip on Twitter @LATcelebs.

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