A personal vent on Tabloid journalism vs Stalking

I heard one of these photographers on a talk show once, and he was asked if actors, etc didn't really like the publicity they were getting. The photographer answered, "They like it, but they want it on their own terms".

Well, yes, I guess that would be true. I imagine that these famous people realize that there are certain events where the cameras are going to be, and probably have every right to be. And they have no trouble with that. And if a celeb is walking down the street in Manhattan, I guess they have to expect coming across some photographer who will get a quick shot or two of them.

That's probably should be where it ends. But that is not where it does end. I don't think the public knows just how invasive it can get.


But following them down the street for blocks, lying in wait, and all the tricks you mentioned-yes, I think that comes very close to stalking.

A celebrity who really wants to can duck a lot of this stuff. Maybe not all, but a lot. If you walk around looking like Julia Roberts, chances are they'll find you.

I realize it's asking a lot for, say, Julia Roberts to make the effort not to be recognizable, but there's a price to being famous...

I think you might underestimate the lengths some photogs go to to find these celebs. Lying in wait outside their house, following them for blocks, etc. I would think the only way to avoid them would be to virtually put yourself under house arrest.

I saw one shot of a photographer putting himself four feet in front of an actress as she walked down the street, and as she moved forward, he moved backward for a most of the block. Think it might get dixconcerting to be walking with a person snapping pictures at you for several minutes at a time, unless you are at a major event? It gets worse than that.

Again, there are events, restaurants, bars, areas that any celebrity pretty much has to expect to be photographed. But it appears to go far, far beyond that. And it isn't just the ocasional snapshot as they walk down the street-it turns into a who session of getting photographed for several minutes. At the photographer's choosing, no matter where the celeb wants to go.