Paparazzi Should be a Synonym for Stalker

 

In an age where everyone has a camera on them at all times due to smartphones, photographs of celebrities in their most private moments, flood the internet. Now many of these photographs are on personal social media sites like Facebook and were the result of personal encounters with a celebrity in a public place such as a restaurant, but on many for-profit websites, these photos come from photographers that would in any other scenario, be considered a stalker.

Known to the public as paparazzi, the word is an eponym, dating back to the 1960 film "La Dolce Vita". A character in the movie is named Paparazzo, is a news photographer and director Federico Fellini said in an interview with Time magazine, "Paparazzo...suggests to me a buzzing insect, hovering, darting, stinging." By the late 1960's, the term became a commonly used word for intrusive photographers.

It didn't take long for members of the paparazzi to become a thorn in the sides of celebrities.

The usually well mannered, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, ordered Secret Service agents to destroy the camera of photographer, Ron Galella. The incident in 1972, led to Galella suing Onassis for damage to his property. She counter-sued, claiming harassment of her and her family. In "Galella v. Onassis", Onassis was able to retain a restraining order against Galella.

Most famously, the intrusiveness of the paparazzi led the death of Princess Diana and film producer Dodi Fayed. Paparazzi became so aggressive in following the two, that after a high-speed car chase, their Mercedes-Benz crashed in the Pont de l'Alma road tunnel. Even with Princess Diana struggling for her last breaths, instead of providing her assistance at the scene, paparazzi raced for the best positions to take pictures of the very accident they caused. Police took several of the photographers into custody, but none of them were ever charged.

In some states and countries, paparazzi are restricted by laws and curfews. In California, a bill was passed in 2013, protecting children of celebrities from the harassment of paparazzi. Ironically, it did not include children who were celebrities themselves.

In other cases, organizations such as TMZ and the Globe, won the right to be considered a form of news media protected by the First Amendment. 

Making matters worse, various celebrities have learned how to manipulate the paparazzi to boost their own fame or even make more money. Public relations agencies working for some celebrities, actually will call up paparazzi and inform them of when and where their employers will be. In other situations, some celebrities have even sold the paparazzi photos of themselves or leads to stories such as weddings or pregnancy announcements. 

One example is when Kim Kardashian married NBA player Kris Humphries. Though the couple was only married for 72 days, Kardashian pulled in $15 million from the E! for the rights to film the wedding. Not long afterward, after she divorced Humphries, Kardashian married Kanye West and E! once again shelled out the big bucks ($21 million) for the rights to broadcast their wedding. Kardashian earned $36 million for just saying, "I do."

Just two days ago, singer Katy Perry, had a run-in with the paparazzi while trying to take a moment to relax from her Prismatic World Tour. While walking on the beach of Sydney, paparazzi became aggressive with her to the point, that the normally good-natured singer lashed out on them after they demanded that she strip down to her bikini and let them get some shots of her, in exchange for leaving her alone. She took to Twitter, tweeting pictures of some of the photographers and informing her fans that any pictures they see of her on the beach of Sydney, were taken against her will. A couple of the photographers actually had the audacity to lash out against the pictures Perry had taken, were taken against their will. 

It is one thing for a celebrity to have pictures taken of them at events such as a movie premier or at a public event of some sort, but at the same time celebrities should be given their privacy. It's one thing for a legitimate fan to possibly snag a selfie with a celebrity, but these moments usually don't result in profit opportunities for the fan. The majority of the time, these fans don't make the celebrity fear for their personal safety.

The paparazzi photographers on the other hand, are basically professional stalkers.