Lindsay Lohan's pal, Claus Hjelmbak, who was present the night she claims she was assaulted at the W Hotel in NYC, is speaking out on her behalf, revealing, "she's not in a good place."
But he tells E! News that "it's not because of health issues."
"She's not in a good place, because people around her keep throwing her under the bus," he clarifies.
Christian LaBella, who Lohan accused of assault, was released from police custody after authorities determined no crime was committed and dropped the charges. But Hjelmbak says that although he nor Lohan knew LaBella before the incident, he knows why the 26-year-old actress befriended him that night.
"Lindsay is a sweet girl and is very open and nice when people come over and talk," Hjelmbak explains. "In this case, she thought it was somebody her friends knew."
The night turned ugly when Lohan started to notice that LaBella was taking photos of her, with Hjelmbak adding that "she was visibly shaken already at that point."
"She was shocked," he confesses, adding that Lohan only had "a drink or two" that night.
"At that moment, you feel betrayed when you are in a private space and you realize someone has documented the entire night on the phone."
Hjelmbak explains that he just wants his friend to get better and start focusing on the good in her life, rather than the bad.
"Look at her art and stop focusing so much on her private life," he says. "That would be a big help to her getting back to a really good place."