TAMING THE PAPARAZZI IN THE “WILD WEST” : A LOOK AT CALIFORNIA'S ...

Vikas Bhargava

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TAMING THE PAPARAZZI IN THE “WILD WEST” : A LOOK AT CALIFORNIA'S ...

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• Publié par: ebovogyc
• Nombre de lectures: 158
• Langue: Français

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TAMING THE PAPARAZZI IN THE ―WILD WEST‖: A LOOK AT CALIFORNIA‘S 2009 AMENDMENT TO THE ANTI-PAPARAZZI ACT AND A CALL FOR INCREASED PRIVACY PROTECTIONS FOR CELEBRITY CHILDREN

* L AUREN N.F OLLETT

―They converge several times a week like flies on a dead carcass. Blocking the street, the sidewalk, hanging their cameras over the fence. 1 Making boatloads of noise.‖

ABSTRACT

With our culture’s celebrity obsession intensifying each year, it is not surprising that recent media attention has concentrated on the children of these famous faces. Unfortunately, there are currently no adequate federal or state laws in place to protect these children from being hounded by paparazzi and exploited by entertainment magazines and Web sites worldwide. This Note examines the evolution of antipaparazzi legislation and analyzes the inadequacies of current and proposed legal protections. Further, it recommends strengthening existing safeguards by creating paparazzi-free buffer zones around family-oriented areas and following

 * Class of 2011, University of Southern California Gould School of Law; B.S. Business Administration / Entrepreneurship, B.A. Communication 2008, University of Southern California. I owe thanks to Professor Jonathan Stern for his guidance and insight throughout the development of this Note and to the editors and staff of theSouthern California Law Reviewtheir hard work and for assistance.  1. Tammara,The Paparazzi Pursuit, L.A.M ETBLOGS 11, 2009, 3:53 PM), (Aug. http://la.metblogs.com/2009/08/11/the-paparazzi-pursuit/.

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international approaches to maintaining an adequate level of privacy, and consequently safety, for celebrity children.

TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION.................................................................................203 II. THE POLICY AND HISTORY BEHIND CALIFORNIA‘S ANTIPAPARAZZI LEGISLATION ..................................................208 A. A N A NALYSIS OF THE C OMMON L AW ,A NTISTALKING S TATUTE , AND C ALIFORNIA ‘ S F IRST T WO L EGISLATIVE A TTEMPTS TO R EIN IN THE P APARAZZI ....................................208 1.California‘s Common Law Tort: Intrusion into Seclusion ............................................................................209 2.California‘s Antistalking Statute........................................210 3. Is Injunctive Relief a Possibility? .......................................211 4. The Original Anti-Paparazzi Act ........................................212 5. Introducing Assault in the 2005 Amendment— Assembly Bill Number 381 ................................................213 B. C ALIFORNIA ‘ S 2009A MENDMENT TO THE A NTI -P APARAZZI A CT :W HY I T S TILL I S N OT E NOUGH .......................................214 1. The 2010 Anti-Paparazzi Act .............................................215 2. Is the New Law Enough?....................................................216 a. Same Law, Same Problems...........................................216 b. Media Outlet Liability: Will It Work? ..........................220 c. The Anti-SLAPP Barrier...............................................222 III. A CONSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS: THE FIRST AMENDMENT, THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY, AND THE ANTI- PAPARAZZI ACT .............................................................................225 A. T HE R IGHT TO P RIVACY ............................225................................ 1. An Overview.......................................................................225 2. Public Figures and the Waiver of the Right to Privacy ......228 B. T HE F IRST A MENDMENT ...........................................................230 IV. A LOOK AT PROPOSED SOLUTIONS AND INTERNATIONAL APPROACHES ................................................235 A. H ERE W E G O A GAIN :C ALIFORNIA ‘ S L ATEST P ROPOSAL TO R EIN IN THE P APARAZZI ,A SSEMBLY B ILL N UMBER 2479, BY E XTENDING THE R EACH OF THE S TALKING S TATUTE ........235 B. T HE I NTERNATIONAL A PPROACH ..............................................623 V. SOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................239 A. S HIFTING THE B ALANCE B ETWEEN THE R IGHT TO P RIVACY AND THE F IRST A MENDMENT :A N A RGUMENT IN F AVOR OF

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THE I NTERNATIONAL A PPROACH TO P APARAZZI I SSUES AND A C ALL FOR N EW D EFINITIONS OF N EWSWORTHINESS ....240 B. I MPLEMENTING F IXED B UFFER Z ONES A ROUND A REAS T HAT S HOULD B E S AFE AND F RIENDLY ,E VEN TO C ELEBRITY F AMILIES :S CHOOLS ,P ARKS , AND M EDICAL F ACILITIES ................................................................................244 VI. CONCLUSION ..................................................................................248

I. INTRODUCTION

It‘s a bit like an animal looking for its prey, isn‘t it? 2 –Duncan Raban We all have seen the pictures splashed across the colorful pages of tabloids and plastered all over the Internet on celebrity blogs: Suri Cruise 3 skipping down the streets of New York in children‘s highheels, and 4 Shiloh Jolie-Pitt cradling her doll as she is carried by her famous father. In recent years, celebrity children have become objects of fascination and 5 doting attention by millions worldwide. Their births are heralded on the 6 front pages of magazines and newspapers, and Internet bloggers race to break the news of the unique and off-beat names selected for celebrities‘ just-born, already-famous children. And while the world is captivated by images of these children, who are known for nothing more than being the products of two beautiful and familiar faces, many of us forget the reason that we are able to dote on photographs of these angelic children— paparazzi. 7 In the years since the tragic death of Princess Diana, the word  2. P ETER H OWE ,P APARAZZI 36 (2005). 3. SeeMolls,Suri Cruise Is Better at Walking in Heels than Me, E VIL B EET G OSSIP (Nov. 21, 2009, 12:16 PM), http://evilbeetgossip.film.com/2009/11/21/suri-cruise-is-better-at-walking-in-heels- than-me/. 4. See Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt Take Maddox and Shiloh Shopping in Cannes, P EOPLE C ELEBRITY B ABY B LOG  (May 19, 2008, 11:47 AM), http://celebritybabies.people.com/2008/05/19/ jolie-pitts/.  5.For purposes of this Note, the term ―celebrity‖ will be used to refer to ―people well known for their well knownness.‖H OWE ,supranote 2, at 23 (quoting Daniel Boorstin). This includes actors, performers, musicians, models, reality television stars, athletes, socialites, and other individuals who receive media attention. Further, for purposes of this Note, the term ―children‖ will refer to minor children, who are under the age of legal adulthood (typically eighteen). 6.For example, see the front cover ofPeoplefrom June, 19, 2006, which prominently displays Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt with their newborn daughter Shiloh. P EOPLE , June 19, 2006,available at http://www.people.com/people/archive/issue/0,,7566060619,00.html.  7. Although various other theories have been presented, a British jury found that the deaths of Princess Diana and her companion, Dodi al-Fayed, were―caused by the gross negligence of her

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8 ―paparazzi‖ has becomWe know these pest-likee a household term. characters not for the photographs that they take of celebrities in glamorous ball gowns, waltzing down the red carpet, but for the images of celebrities in sweats, without makeup, and in compromising situations with costars. Former picture editor forThe New York TimesHowe describes the Peter job of the paparazzi as―taking photographs you shouldn‘t take in places 9 you shouldn‘t be.‖the motivation that the paparazzi have to go to And such extreme lengths to get the ―best‖ shot is enormous. The price tag for exclusive shots of celebrities is at its peak, with photographs of Britney 10 Spears‘s Las Vegas wedding going for a reported $120,000, and rumors of the final picture of Michael Jackson alive selling for a whopping 11 $500,000. The fact that entertainment publications are able to pay such extraordinary amounts for these photographs speaks to the current state of the industry. American Media, Inc., the owner of several celebrity and entertainment publications worldwide, includingNational Enquirer,Star, 12 andGlobe, had reported revenues of nearly $1.6 billion in 2006. The celebrity magazinePeoplerevenues of over $1.5 billion in expected 13 2006, with readership exceeding that ofNewsweek andSports 14 Illustrated. And this does not include the major Internet gossip sites 15 visited by as many as twenty million unique visitors per month. Well- known celebrity Web sites TMZ and PerezHilton.com bring in an estimated speeding driver and pursuing paparazzi.‖ Mary Jordan,Paparazzi and Driver Found Negligent in Princess Diana’s Death, W ASH .P OST , Apr. 8, 2008, at C1,available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/07/AR2008040702743.html.  8.―Paparazzi‖is the plural form, while―paparazzo‖is the singular form used for ―a freelance photographer who aggressively pursues celebrities for the purpose of taking candid photographs.‖ M ERRIAM -W EBSTER ‘ S C OLLEGIATE D ICTIONARY 896 (11th ed. 2003).  9. H OWE ,supranote 2, at 17. 10. Id.at 32.  11.The Paparazzi Reach Their Zenith Capturing Michael Jackson’s Death, T HE P APARAZZI R EFORM I NITIATIVE B LOG (July 7, 2009, 12:03 AM), http://www.paparazzi-reform.org/journal/2009/7/ 7/the-paparazzi-reach-their-zenith-capturing-michael-jacksons.html [hereinafter PRIB LOG ].  12.American Media (publisher),W IKIPEDIA , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Media_% 28publisher%29 (last visited Nov. 8, 2010).  13.People (magazine), W IKIPEDIA , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_%28magazine%29 (last visited Nov. 8, 2010).  14.Average Circulation for Top 100 ABC Magazines: 2005, M AG .P UBLISHERS A M ., http://www.magazine.org/CONSUMER_MARKETING/CIRC_TRENDS/16117.aspx (last visited Nov. 8, 2010).  15.See, e.g., Douglas A. McIntyre,Yahoo! (YHOO) Entertainment Site Hammers Competition, TMZ.com Should Pass, 24/7W ALL S T . (July 1, 2009, 1:54 PM), http://247wallst.com/2009/07/01/ yahoo-yhoo-entertertainment-site-hammers-competition-tmz-com-should-pass/ (reporting that Yahoo!‘s OMG! entertainment site received 20.6 million unique visitors in May 2009).

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16 17 $25.4 million and $6.2 million, respectively, in annual revenue. As the public‘s interest in celebrities (and consequently tabloids) continues to climb, the purchasing power of the entertainment news outlets will only increase, proving that these paparazzi issues are more relevant than ever before. Few people who have witnessed the paparazzi chasing celebrities down the sidewalks, swerving in and out of traffic while following their cars, or flashing cameras in their faces as they leave the grocery store 18 would argue that there is not a serious problem. The Paparazzi Reform Initiative Web site features a video of supermodel Kate Moss arriving at Los Angeles International Airport that serves as a prime example of the 19 problem. In the video, Moss is literally swarmed by dozens of paparazzi to the point that she physically cannot move, forcing her to shove her way through a blockade of photographers as she pushes her terrified young daughter on a luggage cart. The video has an almost strobe-like effect from the constant flashing of lights, as paparazzi scream at the star—a situation that would be unimaginably horrifying for a young child caught in the crossfire. While Moss is finally able to gain some privacy by crouching behind an airport security desk (and having her daughter taken out of the airport separately), she has to be escorted to her shuttle van by a blockade of at least six airport security personnel linked arm in arm while 20 surrounding her to keep the paparazzi off of her. This video is only one of hundreds available at Web sites such as TMZ and Hollywood.tv that capture the horrific safety and privacy concerns that the paparazzi present. Although some may contend that celebrities ―can‘t have it both 21 ways‖ —enjoying fame, fortune, and attention when promoting their films  16. Rafat Ali,With AOL Spinoff, TMZ to Move to Time Warner/Telepictures, as Expected; $25M 2008 Revenues, P AID C ONTENT . ORG (Nov. 16, 2009, 4:54 PM), http://paidcontent.org/article/419-with- aol-spinoff-tmz-to-move-to-time-warnertelepictures-as-expected-25m/ (stating that TMZ had revenues of $25.4 million in 2008).  17. Douglas A. McIntyre,The Twenty-Five Most Valuable Blogs in America, 24/7W ALL S T . (Nov. 10, 2009, 3:15 AM), http://247wallst.com/2009/11/10/the-twenty-five-most-valuable-blogs-in- america/ (estimating that PerezHilton.com is the third most valuable blog on the Internet, with a value of $44 million and annual revenue of $6.2 million). 18see. But Tim Cavanaugh, Op-Ed.,The Myth of the ―Stalkerazzi,‖L.A. T IM ES , Feb. 20, 2006, at B15,available at http://articles.latimes.com/2006/feb/20/opinion/oe-cavanaugh20 (arguing that the paparazzi problem is a myth and that the celebrities themselves are to blame for their car accidents while being chased by photographers). 19Video: Supermodel Kate Moss and Her Children Are Swarmed and Harassed by. Featured Paparazzi at Los Angeles International Airport, T HE P APARAZZI R EFORM I NITIATIVE , http://www.paparazzi-reform.org/ (last visited Nov. 10, 2010) [hereinafter PRI]. 20id.. See  21.Paparazzi and the ―They Can’t HaveIt Both Ways‖ Excuse, PRIB LOG (May 14, 2009, 10:07