REPORT: Avenatti Physically Abused Ex-Girlfriend

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A new Vanity Fair story on the rapid fall of attorney Michael Avenatti draws a picture of an abusive egotist, beset by anger issues and desire for attention in his public fight with the White House.

His ex-girlfriend accused Avenatti of physical and emotional abuse, and media figures anonymously described him as having an explosive temper and volatile personality behind the scenes of his countless television appearances.

His ex-girlfriend Mareli Miniutti, 23 years his junior, described him to Vanity Fair as controlling, at one point berating her as a “f—ing idiot” when she started crying about an eating disorder when they were on their way out for dinner. He also grew angry when she wanted to get a waitressing job rather than be solely financially supported by him, telling her she could be the next First Lady.

“It was my fault at the end of everything,” she said. “That was just something I got used to. He would yell at me for bringing something up by asking if that’s really how I wanted to spend what little time we had together. I wanted to be a supportive partner, so I let it slide off … but I felt really scared when I would see one side of him, then the other, within a half-hour period. Up and down, up and down.”

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