Andrew McCarthy Arrested in Ethiopia
Actor Andrew McCarthy found himself at gunpoint while on assignment for Afar magazine.
The 47-year-old Weekend at Bernie’s star took part in the magazine’s “Spin the Globe” program where the staff literally turns a globe and picks a spot at random to send a writer.
According to People, McCarthy was in Lalibela, one of Ethiopia’s holiest cities, visiting an underground church when he was escorted out with a gun pointed at his back for not having the proper documentation. He said that he had purchased a ticket, but had accidentally left it in his hotel room.
McCarthy wrote about the scary experience saying, “I thought his reaction to my offense was extreme; I tried to say as much. He grunted something in Amharic and prodded me with the tip of his rifle.”
He added it “was just the kind of thing that happens when you show up alone in a distant country without a plan.”
McCarthy was freed after some help from the locals.
McCarthy shot to fame in the 80s. He starred in Mannequin, Weekend at Bernie’s and the cult flick Pretty in Pink. His most recent role was as Joe Bennett on the now defunct Lipstick Jungle.
