TATUM O'NEAL TRASHES HER FATHER

Ryan O'Neal's daughter Tatum has defended her brother Griffin, saying he did not provoke their father when Ryan allegedly assaulted him at the weekend.Tatum, 43, claims her Oscar-winning father is to blame for the family fracas. She said: "No matter what my dad is saying in the press, Griffin was not trying to start a fight, he was attempting to protect his younger brother Redmond."The 'Paper Moon' actress has a history of feuding with her father and has not spoken to him for years. Ryan's manager Neil Hassman has rubbished her claims, saying: "I would be hesitant to buy into anything Tatum says about her father, or her brothers for that matter."Ryan, 65, was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon and negligent discharge of a firearm, after police were called to his Malibu home in the early hours of Saturday morning. Ryan, who was later released on bail for $50,000, claimed he only got his gun after Griffin started wildly swinging a fireplace poker. The 'Love Story' actor says he was grazed in the attack but Griffin's pregnant 22-year-old girlfriend was struck in the head. Ryan said: "I ducked and he hit his girlfriend. She's seven months pregnant.I got nervous at that point and fled to my room and got my gun. Griffin came up the stairs so I just fired it into the banister. He fled."Redmond, 21, is Ryan's son with 'Charlie's Angels' actress Farrah Fawcett.

Tatum O'Neal