entertainment

Famous mother convinces media to give her some privacy.

 

UPDATE: Kristen Bell and her husband Dax Shephard have just made seriously impressive progress in their campaign to stop paparazzi photos of celebrity children from being published in magazines, online, and on TV.

People magazine, Just Jared website and Entertainment Tonight News have all pledged not to use photographs of children.

This is what People editorial director Jess Cagle had to say about their decision to boycott pics of famous kids: “Kristen Bell and Dax Shepherd have made the media more sensitive to the brutal tactics some freelance photographers use to get even the most innocent-looking shots of celebs’ kids at play.”

The publication says they “would not publish photos of celebs’ kids taken against their parents’ wishes, in print or online.”

This is a massive victory for new mum and dad Bell and Shepherd. This is what Dax tweeted today:

Here’s how Kristen and Dax got some of the biggest players in entertainment news to commit to their cause. What do you think: amazing or just famous-person nonsense?

 

Kristen Bell recently declared war on the paparazzi.

The 33-year-old Veronica Mars actress is on a mission: to protect the privacy of famous people’s children.

She’s calling on fans to boycott magazines that publish photographs of celebrities with their kids, arguing that the scandal-hungry media has gone too far.

“They’re fucking crazy people. I mean, this is what killed Princess Diana,” Bell says about the omnipresence of paparazzi.

Bell and her husband, 39-year-old actor/comedian Dax Shepard, are relatively new parents. They welcomed baby girl Lincoln to the world in March 2013, and it’s completely changed the way they want to handle their fame.

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Where they tolerated the attention of paparazzi as free-flying celebrities and even as a couple, now that Bell’s a mama, she has a huge problem with the flock of male photographers stalking her family for photos.

She’s not alone. Jennifer Garner and Halle Berry are both world-famous actresses with children they want to shield from their own fame. They helped to pass an anti-paparazzi bill in the US last year, and they’re on board with Bell’s campaign.

Kristen and her husband Dax Shepard

Bell’s attack is directly aimed at lurking photographers and the editors who buy their photographs, not the fans themselves. Them, she has faith in.

“I have confidence that the American public wants to be well-informed consumers. I think if they knew that in order for them to get a picture of a kid at the park, it means that kid was followed by nine strange men, who are yelling and calling him names, for 16 blocks, I think people would choose not to look at the pictures if they knew the psychological impact that has on the kid.”

Bell knows she’s fighting a fierce battle here. Tabloid magazines and gossip websites exist solely on the photos paparazzi sell them, so she’s targeting an entire industry here.

But that hasn’t dampened her determination.

“If you put the face of a 6-year-old on the cover of your magazine, and print ‘Suri’s Hidden Drama,’ you’re an asshole. That’s a 6-year-old! Are you fucking kidding me? What’s wrong with you?”

The Forgetting Sarah Marshall star has been panned for requesting privacy for her children, when she has built her career on the attention of media. Her campaign has been met with the usual criticisms of famous parents: “You knew what you were getting into! This is what fame is!”

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And this is Kristen Bell‘s reply: “Look, I’m sorry I didn’t know that my profession would eventually make my child miserable, because if I had, I never would have chosen this career. I would be in [my hometown in] Michigan, trying to be as happy as possible, and feeling good about who I was.”

She also readily acknowledges that she’s peddling a cause that affects only the rich and famous. “There are absolutely bigger issues in the world, and I stand up for a lot of them on a pretty regular basis.”

Which is true – Bell does some great work for charities like Do Something, ASPCA, and Invisible Children. She’s just turning her advocacy skills to support a personal crusade this time.

“The reason I can stand for this confidently is because I do my shit elsewhere. I’ve been to Africa and seen the projects I’ve raised money for. My side of the street is clean. I’m not sleeping on the job here. I just think it’s really important to acknowledge where we’re heading as a culture if we choose to ignore these kinds of issues.”

What do you think? Does Kristen Bell have the right to protect her kids from the paparazzi? Or does it just come with celebrity territory?

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