Lynne Stringer – Author & Editor

If I was sunbathing in my backyard (not gonna happen, I assure you, but this is hypothetical, of course!) and a man peered over my fence and started taking photos of me I’d call the police and have him arrested. Where I live they come down pretty hard on that kind of thing. It’s often equated (deservedly so) with stalking. I certainly don’t think it’s nice behaviour, do you?
But it seems that this kind of behaviour is just fine if you happen to be famous.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I know that a lot of famous people can get away with plenty. They are often let off when they commit a crime and sometimes nothing seems to catch up to them. They also have a lot of money and worldwide acclaim. These things can make people think that they deserve a little inconvenience when it comes to the paparazzi taking photos and invading their privacy. I mean, they’ve got it all, haven’t they? They wanted to be rich and famous and that goes with the territory, so they should just cop it on the chin.
I disagree with that for a number of reasons. For a start, while I do have a problem with them not always receiving their dues when they commit a crime, I would rather see that change, if possible than think that the intrusion of journalists somehow makes up for it.
Secondly, I don’t think money and worldwide acclaim is all it’s cracked up to be, and I think a lot of celebrities probably realise that, certainly once they get it. Also, sometimes people who act, for instance, do not go into it because they want to be famous but because they like acting. After all, there are hundreds of thousands of actors and only a few we hear from on a regular basis, so many would probably go into acting not thinking that they were ever going to be that successful. They were just doing what they loved. It seems unfair, if this is the case, that they should have to deal with that kind of scrutiny.
Most importantly, these clashes with the press can be life threatening. I think everyone who was around in 1997 remembers where they were when they heard the news about the death of the Princess of Wales, and regardless of arguments relating to drunk drivers and possible white cars having caused the accident, the fact remains that they would not have had to take evasive action at all if not for the hounding of the paparazzi. Not to mention that these photos are usually only used to satisfy the public’s insatiable desire to know what the celebrities are doing in their private lives. Do we really need to know? Should we? I don’t think so.
So I think that some laws need to be brought in to limit the paparazzi’s ability to go after celebrities. Sure, if they’re committing a crime, then they should be photographed so that it can be used as evidence in a court of law, but if they’re playing with their kids in the backyard or going to a romantic dinner I think it’s only fair that they’re left alone.

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