Paparazzi

[Greenday]

It's amazing what the paparazzi get away with. I mean, what's the deal with them? Why is it ok for them to harass whomever they want, whenever they want, wherever they want

If you are famous, forget it, you have no personal life. You can't even go to the bathroom and take a crap without the media making a big deal out of it. They get in their car, the paparazzi surround it, taking craploads of pictures, and they can't leave because they'd have to run people over to move their car.

Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing protection removed from the paparazzi. If a paparazzi is harassing a celeb while they are doing everyday normal stuff, and it gets out of hand, I feel the celebrity should be fully allowed to knock them out. Hell, if someone had a camera in my face all day long, without my permission, and didn't let up after I told them to knock it off, they should get what is coming to them. Smashed film and a broken nose.

[DesignFox]

I think the paparazzi are lucky that I am not famous. If they surrounded my car and refused to let me leave, I'd start driving and make them dive out of the way. There is no excuse for that sort of behavior.

Of course, people like me could help prevent the problem in the first place by not viewing their photos, not buying magazines that rely on them*, and not viewing stupid celebrity stories on the internet...but...I like to watch a good train wreck... So, I'm partially to blame. Of course, I don't know who was pushy to get the photo and who wasn't...so maybe the companies should just have better standards.

*I don't subscribe to or purchase any magazines, but I do read/view crap on the internet.

[Seshat]

I do my bit - I couldn't care less what 'celebrities' get up to.

Maybe everyone should become suspected Asperger's like me, then the paparazzi would let up. Of course, science journalism would be HUGE!

[MystyGlyttyr]

Maybe everyone should become suspected Asperger's like me, then the paparazzi would let up. Of course, science journalism would be HUGE!

Nah. Some of us would still be stalking after professional wrestlers. I would have a tent in Rey Mysterio's front yard. LOL

Randomly, I have no problems with paparazzi taking pictures. My only problem is when they imped someone's path, chase, stalk, harrass, attack, etc., that person. If you just line up and take your pictures, cool, let me see what you get. If you drape yourself across the hood of their car, I hope they throw you off and run you over.

[DesignFox]

Hehe I like the way Mysty puts it. That's pretty much what I wanted to say.

[Greenday]

Randomly, I have no problems with paparazzi taking pictures. My only problem is when they imped someone's path, chase, stalk, harrass, attack, etc., that person. If you just line up and take your pictures, cool, let me see what you get. If you drape yourself across the hood of their car, I hope they throw you off and run you over.

I mean, it's cool to take a couple pictures, especially if the celeb doesn't mind it, but the paparazzi don't just take a couple pictures. They take an absurd amount well past the point of being cool about it.

[Seshat]

The whole idea creeps me out. Even before I got sick, I was careful to choose work and career paths that didn't lead to anyone giving a damn about me. To me, even the 'couple of pictures' isn't cool - if the person doesn't tell you they're cool with a photo, don't take it!

But I acknowledge that that's me, projecting my feelings onto other people. Even so, I sometimes wonder how many potentially great politicians and singers and so forth we're losing because they're like me, and unwilling to submit their lives to the paparazzi.

[ThePhoneGoddess]

The paparazzi do go too far a lot of times but you must understand that it is partly stars' behavior which encourages it. You notice how certain stars are constantly in the spotlight and others rarely ever make a blip on the radar? That's because some of them are addicted to the attention (Hellooo Paris and Britney!) but others make it a point to live quietly.

Take for instance, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. They and their families are rarely in tabloids other than the occasional picture of them shopping in a grocery store or some other normal behavior. This is because they do not A) do things for attention or B) seek out the paparazzi and pose for pictures. They go about their lives.

I remember seeing one tabloid pic of Britney from a year or so back. It was taken at night in front of her house as her limo was coming back from somewhere. It was very dark and the photographer was standing outside the limo but he was able to take pictures showing what was going on inside the limo because THE INTERIOR LIGHTS WERE ON.

Seriously, you can't do things like that and then expect not to have them following you around every moment of your life.

The people who seek out attention like that make it worse for all the others, because they encourage the photographers to behave badly.

[crazylegs]

There are plenty of 'celebrities' (normally zz row) who 'make it known' that they will be out and about in a certain location or on a beach somewhere wearing a napkin and some dental floss and that they wont mind having their picture taken. When these people then moan about media intrusion I have no sympathy whatsoever.

[Greenday]

We can't also forget some of the bogus stories these people tend to publish. I mean, how many of these stories are actually true?

I just learned in my politics of diversity class about how in America, a journalist doesn't have to prove anything is true, just that they looked into it. In England, the journalist has to be able to prove what they are publishing is fact. I like the latter.

[AFPheonix]

Real journalists do. People who write for the Star and any of those other rags, US or UK can write whatever the hell they want and then proceed to get sued for it if they go too far over the line.

[Greenday]

It's still a lot easier for them to write whatever load of BS they want in the US. They don't have to prove they looked for the truth. Puts all the burden on the people getting screwed over.

[myswtghst]

I have to agree with some of the above posts that it's a mixed bag. I feel bad for some celebs who are targeted (Jennifer Aniston comes to mind) just because of unfortunate circumstances in their lives. Photogs take photos with crazy long-range lens cameras, and sneak into places they don't belong.

I don't feel sorry at all for attention-wh@res like Britney and Paris, who basically bring it on themselves. If you're going to run around in public half-nekkid and drunk, expect to be photographed. I've read interviews with various young stars who basically say - "Yes, I get drunk and act silly - but I do it in my own home, so there's no one to capture it on film!" That makes much more sense to me as a way of preventing embarrassing photos getting out.

Oh, and I agree with Mysty (as always!) that if the photogs get to the point where they're in your face, endangering you, or even going against your clearly stated wishes ("No more pictures!") it should be fully ok to resort to some amount of force, as a method of self-defense. I'm glad to see more articles lately about paparazzi getting in trouble with the law for causing traffic incidents with reckless driving, trying to scare/nab celebs driving. I just wish they'd take the next step.