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I have a neighbor named Zac. He's always pleasant and holds the elevator door open for me when he doesn't have to. Young, unassuming, and a generally-likable guy. Little did I know that my neighbor became one of young Hollywood's breakout stars virtually overnight. I noticed that he was on the cover of People magazine one day with this young girl I sometimes saw him hanging out with. Little did I know that my neighbor was Zac Efron. I sometimes wondered if the paparazzi would ever show up to my house, especially after the whole nude picture fiasco concerning his girlfriend came to light, but I always thought, no, I live in a quiet neighborhood, far from Hollywood. The paparazzi would never come to my house.
Until yesterday.
My boyfriend and I went to take our eight-month-old son for a walk. Typical, suburban boring stuff. Upon trying to exit the front door, approximately 8 paparazzos and 1 paparazza were blocking the front door.
What follows is the exchange:
Us: What are you all doing here? This is private property.
Them: This is not private property. The property line is here [points to arbitrary point on the sidewalk which they had obviously crossed]. This is a free country. We have a right to be here.
"Leader" points to Zac and his girlfriend who are getting out of their car with groceries. Paparazzi (like a school of fish) swarm over to the parking gate, climb over bushes (destroying them) and run to the back of the property attempting to gain better access to their prey.
Us: There are people in here with families and children. Get out of here!
Them: You're a fucking asshole.
Us: You're going to curse in front of my son? Are you crazy?! Get the hell out of here! We're going to call the cops!
Them: Call the cops. I'll be right here. Nice example you're setting for your kid.
You know that feeling you get when you're 3 seconds from completely losing it? That hot and red feeling as smoke is about to shoot from your ears? That was me. I decided to go upstairs. Take off my earrings, put on Vaseline, and start cracking skulls. But this is not 3 o'clock High. And I am too old to be fighting.
Let me just say that my next response was to hurl hot water on the paparazzi for disrespecting my home and my son. The upwardly mobile in me placed the call 911. The police did come, but the paparazzi had already left, presumably staking out their next victim(s).
No, this is in no way akin to Princess Diana or Sean Penn or any other paparazzi-induced crime against morality. But it was pretty damn annoying.
Those dickweeds probably got more photos of our hands in their cameras than anything usable.
Haha!
Bitches!
photos via flickr from acat and polymath blues
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and your point is?
there are a disgustting bunch of losers who hang out at the nail salon by my work because eva longoria (or however it's spelled) gets her nails done there.
Am I the only one who doesn't understand the necessity of Vaseline for a fight? I know of several uses for Vaseline, but fighting is not one of them.
cool story!
Hi HC
The Vaseline is to prevent cuts from long fingernail-wielding assasins. You put it on your face:
http://www.nysec.org/sitemap/membership/workshop-writers-space/karen-contreras/
If you have a water hose use it or video tape the next incident and send it to the local police.
I can attest...living in the same complex. Sad. Hm...8 mo. old huh? Something tells me you live right above me...I've got a 3yo. Anyway, sad. I'd have loved to have seen you crack the skull tho.
when i read these rants about the paps i really wonder if people understand the cultural mechanisms that produce the demand for these photographs.
too bad you went through that but if they're on public property you really can't do anything about it and you can be photographed at will -- no mattter who you are. even children, toddlers, etc can be photographed without a parent's permission when they're in public. that's the law. look it up. and i know this because i work as a documentary photographer; not a paparazzi thankfully
discarted
Im from Detroit. In Detroit, we excercise the option to use violence sometimes more often than not... This would be one case where I would PUNCH the guy in the balls so bad he wouldnt be able to take pictures for 3 weeks and remember "his kids" next time he swears in front of you. Oh yeah, and try to prove the assault in court with no marks anywhere
-torch
who the fuck is zac efron?
high school musical 2? you've got to be kidding. Would it have been illegal for you to use, say, a stun gun on these assholes? You could tell the police you were protecting your kid from getting trampled.
smart move torch...assaulting someone in front a pack of photographers. do you think for a moment that one of them just might capture your face, or even the assault in progress?
and what's up with the violence? are you a neanderthal? seriously, using violence in a situation like this is basically like admitting to the world that your a clueless, mindless, thoughtless idiot.
If the paparazzi trespasses over the property line, what right do you have as an owner to repel them?
This is one major downside to the internet for those of us in NY and here in LA - bush league paparazzi re everywhere now. It used to just be a few people who knew the ropes - nw it's any a-hole with a camera.
Thank TMZ etc....for your ordeal.
Wow, I'm not sure how You and your boyfriend where able to compose your selves. If it were me, being from Brooklyn, I would have brought my kid inside, came back down and open a can of "WHIP-A**". No one should disrespect a family, for the sake of a picture!
Power 2 the People
Whenever they show stars punching out the paparazzi, I wonder why they don't do it MORE. They chase people around, causing accidents and making them crazy. Fame must be the biggest nightmare in the world.
I sometimes read the rags, but I am happy to check out the tacky fashions on the red carpet. I don't need to see TV stars shopping at the grocery store and taking out the trash.
And I always ask nicely before taking a famous person's photo at an event.
hahaa, can't believe this. But yo know? you were great! that paparazzi are all the time bothering celebrities, LET THEM LIVE MAN! come on,
haha, see you guys
I'm a paparazzi here in Hollywood, the incident related above is biased and based solely on the side of the poster.
I've been doing this kind of work for the past 8 months now and have yet to come across any paparazzi who badmouthed anyone.
If a paps calledthe poster an "asshole" it is because some people are really assholes and try to interfere with our jobs instead of minding their own business.
If you respect us, then we will respect you. But if you act like an asshole, then any paps will surely call you an asshole!
By the way, the sidewalk is public property. You can call 911 all day and the cops will tell you anyone has the right to be on a "public" sidewalk!
Dear Guest (papparazzo),
I hear you. Yes, this is a biased post simply because I wrote and you were not there to attest to the exchange that occurred between the photograpghers and myself. I get that you guys have a job to do. I understand that these photos can snag y'all alot of money and, hey, who doesn't want more money. Especially for just snapping a picture.
But my ultimate point is that you don't have to be asshole about it. I was not being an asshole. I simply wanted to get out the front door to the home that I own with my eight-month-old son and his father so we could go for a walk to put my son asleep. If you want to snap a picture of Zac and Vanessa, be my guest. But when you want to curse in front of my son, trample the bushes that I pay maintainence fees for, and won't let me out of my front door, it is not I who is the asshole.
It would have been refreshing if they would have held the door open for us like Britney's paparazzi members do...
That totally sucks that you had to deal with all of that. It's cool to hear that Zac is a good guy, but I feel SO for him and his friends who get bombarded like that. If they were doing something deserving of documenting (Brit, Paris, etc.), then I would have no sympathy. Being hounded at home has got to be annoying... especially when you're not even the target, but have to deal with the jerks. I would think that the property manager would have something to say about the destruction of property (bushes, etc.), but maybe that's just me.
Best of luck with your troubles!! Just keep your head above the law and you'll be fine.
Poor you having to face those nasty paparazzo. Grow up & your sense of entitlement is amazing. The streets are public places , its a shame the photographers did not behaven better but there are rude idiots in every job . Thinks cops, service people & so on. I guess that incident was the most exciting thing to happen to you in your boring surburban life anyway.
I can't wait until this takes effect:
http://laist.com/2007/09/20/guest_comments.php
where does zac efron live?
First... the spelling.
Paparazzi = plural
paparazzo = singular
Now... for all that hate the paparazzi, good news, Malibu has initiated the first steps in enacting paparazzi free zones (PFZ).
Get your PFZ sticker today to support the ground swell:
papfreezone@gmail.com