CARA VANMETER
Living Editor
It’s no longer a First Amendment question or an issue of celebrity privilege. Instead, the paparazzi measure, AB 381, sponsored by Assemblymember Cindy Montañez (D – San Fernando), has led fans to question the new law’s likely effectiveness in protecting celebrities from the extreme methods of overzealous photojournalists.
The paparazzi measure is among the new laws that went into effect in January. It calls for penalties for paparazzi who commit assault in their quest for a photograph or video.
The provisions of the law require that the offending party give up all profits from the photo or video that may be acquired as well as pay triple the normal damages of assault.
Senior Jason Stevenson, a telecommunications major who interned with the newsmagazine show “Extra,” expressed concern that the new measure does not adequately address the long-term issues of paparazzi invasion of privacy and endangerment of celebrities and bystanders.
“The intention of the law is great, but I don’t know that it will make a huge difference because paparazzi will try to get around it,” Stevenson said.
Sophomore Danel Lawrence said celebrities are in need of protection from paparazzi extremists but that this measure may not be enough to provide that protection.
“The paparazzi are known for their determination,” said Lawrence. “They will do whatever they want to get what they’re after.”
This attitude of unrestrained determination was cited as the cause of a car crash this summer involving a photographer and actress Lindsay Lohan, who said she was fleeing a band of paparazzi in Los Angeles when the collision occurred. The incident provides a recent example of what Los Angeles Police and prosecutors describe as a reckless set of photojournalists, who place “getting the scoop” above concerns of legality and safety.
The bill raised other concerns upon its introduction to the state legislature last fall as critics claimed that it gave celebrities additional privileges above those of the average citizen. However, Montañez was quick to reassure fellow lawmakers that the measure was written for the protection of “the movie star and movie-goer alike.”
“It’s not so much an additional privilege for the celebrities as it is an additional caution to the paparazzi to follow the law,” said Lawrence, a fan of Lohan.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was involved in an incident similar to Lohan’s in 1998, had no apparent qualms about signing the measure.
“As a celebrity himself, he knows where they’re coming from,” said Stevenson. “I definitely think it’s a personal as well as political issue.”
Now fans of celebrities like Lohan and countless others who have been attacked either physically or verbally by paparazzi over the years are also making it a personal issue. The Paparazzi Free Project, which can be found online at paparazzi-free.com, provides an alternative to laws like AB 381.
The Web site, which went online in June, describes the project as a “non-profit community dedicated to the idea that celebrities and other public personalities should not be stalked or harassed for photographs and news stories.”
It calls for fans and followers of pop culture to boycott all publications and online forums that use unauthorized photographs or engage in questionable methods of “news” gathering.
The project seeks to hold fans and consumers accountable for the materials they support, a concept that goes straight to the heart of the matter.
“Obviously millions of people are reading these magazines,” Stevenson said. “As long as people keep buying the photos, paparazzi will keep tracking down celebrities.”
Meanwhile, life in Malibu provides Pepperdine students with glimpses of celebrity versus paparazzi wars waged on the battlefields of Blockbuster and Ralphs.
“I was at Starbucks last spring when Courtney Cox and David Arquette were coming out of a store, and there were about 25 paparazzi around trying to get a picture of their baby,” said Stevenson. “I felt bad for them, because they were just shopping — just a little 10 to 15 minute trip, and it turned into this big ordeal.”
While fans acknowledge the right of paparazzi to do their job in seeking photographs of celebrities, many disapprove of the hurtful methods they use.
“Getting into the business, celebrities know that people are going to want to know about them,” said Lawrence. “But the paparazzi are going to extremes. It’s out of control.”
Students agree that the real victims in these situations are often the kids of these celebrities.
“The kids can’t grow up normally,” said junior Breanna Curry, “It’s not anything they did, but still people follow them around and watch everything they do.”
Curry added, “That’s why people turn out like Nicole Ritchie and Paris Hilton.”
01-26-2006