FRIENDS of starlet Ashley Olsen are a little concerned over the fashionista’s recent interest in handsome “National Treasure” actor Justin Bartha.
After Page Six reported the duo had a romantic dinner at Patsy’s in Midtown, stories surfaced of his strange behavior and angry antics with a former girlfriend.
“He’s a little bit psycho-y,” said one source who knows Bartha. “He’s a really cute, nice guy, but he was always jumping out of the shot when Lydia Hearst [Bartha’s former girlfriend of a year] was being photographed.
“It’s a little strange that he would go after a girl [Olsen] who is always having her photo taken,” the source added.
We’re told that after Hearst ended her relationship with Bartha, “he didn’t take it well” and even went so far as to “scream at her and call her a bitch” at an Oscar party this year.
“Lydia broke up with him in August 2007, and at the In Style party during the Oscars in February 2008, Justin went up to her and yelled at her in front of everyone,” said an insider who witnessed the incident.
When the couple broke up, Bartha was evidently crushed. “Lydia was so young, and he was just too intense about her,” the source said. “Justin is still really p – – – ed that she broke up with him in August.”
Bartha is gaining status while here in New York shooting “The Rebound” with Catherine Zeta-Jones, and has been avoiding the cameras so far – but that’s likely to change if he takes up with Olsen.
Hearst, meanwhile, is in Vienna for the Life Ball, where she’ll walk in the Agent Provocateur show. She could not be reached, but her rep confirmed the incident at the In Style party and told us, “There are no hard feelings between Lydia and Justin.”
Bartha’s reps didn’t return our multiple calls and e-mails.