Should paparazzi be held accountable for taking photographs of children? I think so. I was reading in Vanity Fair an interview with Julia Roberts where she discussed her distaste for photographers that tried to get a picture of her child stating “I get pissed off, because I think that it’s inhuman to chase a woman with her children.
The interview with Julia Roberts made me think about the infamous picture of Brit speeding away from paparazzi with her son on her lap, unbuckled. Now, it’s easy for us to sit at home and shake our heads calling her a bad mother, but have you ever seen paparazzi in action? There were literally dozens of people surrounding her car, flashing bulbs and screaming at her. I certainly don’t condone her actions, but I’ve never been in that situation.
At an event I was catering when I first moved here, I was in an alley where our kitchen was stationed when a black car came tearing down the alley going 50 mph nearly taking out one of the chefs. The breaks squealed nearly hitting a woman, when a photographer leapt out of the car and grabbed photos of a stunned Sharon Osbourne who was trying to leave a store without causing a stir. He offered no apology to her, not the chef he nearly ran over. He leapt back in the car and sped away.
Brittney may face a lawsuit for running over a photographer’s foot, however if you look at pictures of when it occurred, there were dozens of photographers with bright flashes surrounding her car, that was in motion. He was lying down with his foot extended trying to get a better angle. Now, shouldn’t common sense tell you that if a car is in motion, maybe you shouldn’t lay down in front of it because the driver may not see you – especially with flashes and people screaming at her?
Now, I suppose you can make an argument that if you choose to be in a business where you may gain celebrity notoriety that you must have to deal with paparazzi. I agree with that. By selling your image you ultimately agree to be a poster child at events and functions. Should you have to deal with goons lurking through your bedroom window? No. Should you have to deal with paparazzi chasing you down the street with your child? No.
All this debate about if celebrities should allow pictures with their children made me think about a class that I took in college. In one of our discussions, the teacher stated that according to the law in our country, anyone that is put into the public eye becomes public domain. If you save a mans life, you are automatically public domain meaning you can be written about, talked about, or followed by the media, even if you ask to be kept anonymous.
This is the same philosophy with celebrities’ children. If a celebrity willingly poses for pictures with their children, or sells photographs of their children, their child is now a celebrity in their own right. Being a celebrity in his or her own right means they are now subject to the same scrutiny that any other celebrity or politician is subject to.
As a celebrity, wouldn’t you want to avoid placing such a stressful and public life on your child? There are countless celebrities and politicians that are obviously wonderful parents whose pictures appear in publications. What I disagree with is paparazzi chasing people, sneaking pictures, or trade publications using these children to sell magazines or stories. Again, back to the Brit saga where magazines week after week run pictures of her poor children in the custody battle. That doesn’t seem fair to those boys. It doesn’t seem fair when I hear about children being stalked at school, on the playground, or at the mall because their parent is famous.
Children are children. They will be cranky. They will misbehave. They will make mistakes. Why should we put them on display, and some of their worst personality traits, for the entire world to judge? Because, the entire world will, and they will be vocal about every misstep these children make.
I do not think a celebrity should have to hole up in their house to avoid their child being photographed. I know several paparazzi that are very careful to ensure the privacy of celebrities’ children, and I hold them in high esteem. Several celebrities will willingly pose for photographs but ask that the photographers please leave their children alone. There are many that do. There are those that don’t.
As Julia Roberts stated “There’s no reason to take pictures of celebrities’ children other than for people to say, “Oh, they’re cute.”
