Are there laws against this kind of thing?

[Saracen]

I think celebs certainly expect it. Whether it's "right" or not is another matter. And I suspect it's rather hard to imagine what it's like having never suffered (and I use that word deliberately) through it.

I wonder how many things we take for granted would be lost through celebrity? The notion of being able to just go out and do some shopping, or go to a restaurant for a meal, or a walk in the park, or a pint down your local, without having photographers clamouring around you, and the photos appearing in some rag the next day or week?

It'd feel a bit like being imprisoned in your own home. Still, at least with most celebs, it's a nice home.

[TooNice]

Still, at least with most celebs, it's a nice home.

Agreed. Though I wonder what it's like to be somewhat famous, yet not rich enough to have a mansion.

I have to say, being mobbed is not fun. Obviously I have no idea what its like to be mobbed in the scale celebrities encounter, but I remember being approached every 20-60 seconds (no exaggeration) walking down a street in Shanghai for various reasons (invitations to passage parlours, asking me to treat a meal/take them to a karaoke - presumably on me, trying to sell something.. and follow me until I had to *run* out of sight) when all I wanted to do was to be quietly explore the areas, and it wasn't the best of my travel experiences.

I can only imagine that was celebrities experience is many times worse - although... their income is more than proportionally more too. I guess my ideal is to be rich enough yet not famous

[unreal]

I don't think being successful justifies a loss of rights. Big billionaire business personalities don't get the same, but according to the "you earn this much you deserve it" attitude, should they apparently be more worse off? Hell no!

Being attacked by the press is an obvious consequence of fame, but the level of utter intrusion against someone like in this particular video is actually completely ridiculous and unfair.

[Agent]

She must have known what she was getting herself into when she went into show business. It's not really as if it's a new phenomenon.

She was 18 when her first album came out. Younger for her singles.
At that age most people are still immature and don't tend to think about things like that. More so if your American (I know that's stereotypical, but I tend to find 18yr olds in the US incredibly immature compared to the rest of the world)

[TooNice]

I think that some of her actions between back in 1998 and now only fuelled the media attention. And I am sure she had more than one chance to give up fame for privacy. I do not doubt that it is possible for a celebrity to fall to relative obscurity if they lay low for a while. Some even manage to keep a balance. I was trying to think of an example, a celebrity who had her moment over a long period of time, yet I do not hear about too often (then again, I do not read tabloids - the fact that I still hear about Britney these days demonstrate the extent of her fame) and Natalie Portman came to my mind. Having just checked up on her on the Wiki, I've found a whole new respect for the lady. No, she is probably not as 'famous' as Britney. I don't think that she earns as much either. Yes she shaved her head too (and apparently got into trouble for it) but it was done for a purpose other than a 'quarter-life crisis'. But darn, I never knew that she spoke so many languages, was a Harvard graduate and went on to become a research assistant. I do not doubt that she had the potential to be even more famous if she'd focus to be an actress. But I suspect that her choices has enabled her to have a certain balance between the benefits of fame and not having to be in the spotlight every fortnight.

[acrobat]

I don't think being successful justifies a loss of rights. Big billionaire business personalities don't get the same, but according to the "you earn this much you deserve it" attitude, should they apparently be more worse off? Hell no!

Being attacked by the press is an obvious consequence of fame, but the level of utter intrusion against someone like in this particular video is actually completely ridiculous and unfair.

I agree. And it gets even worse than that, and I really hate it. Its one thing to get mobbed by the pepperami when you are leaving a courtroom or whatever, but those long zoom lense shots of people I think are really sick. One of the worst I think, was princess Diana. I remember when she was on some big yacht (dodi fayed's?) and it was out at sea somewhere and she probably thought she was getting some peace at last, and yet some photographer gits must have been on another boat or on the shore far away, and used a zoom lense to take photos of her in her bathing suit. I think thats just sick. And then theres people in their own home... where a photographer climbs a tree or something, miles away, and takes a long distance shot of them.

The last one I remember being quite shocked at, was Jennifer Anniston. There where topless shots of her on the net or in a newspaper or something, and they where all taken of her when she was somewhere private.

Its intrusive, but its more than that, I think. I think there needs to be more laws, specifically for this. Its fair enough that they get photos taken of them when they are posing at a premier in london or whatever, but when they are sitting by a private pool or something, its just not right.

I dont think any celeb "deserves it". They don't deserve anything bad, just because they are successful.. and its crazy to think otherwise. But whats worse, is that the likes of Britney, got into this when they where just little teenagers. They make a decision to be a pop star when they are a teenager, and then they have to be punished for that for the rest of their lives? I think its sick. It doesn't phase a lot of people. But again, the likes of Britney end up seriously messed up. Just look at her. She looks like she is on the edge to me.... and yet people still hound the hell out her. It makes me quite angry, because it really wouldn't surprise me if she killed herself, and everyone would be shocked and appalled - even though its their fault for buying all these ****ty magazines like Heat and whatever.

[Brucelles]

To be fair, Britney's getting this stuff now because of her infamy, not her fame. She's washed up and useless, and was crappy to start with, but because she went "drink and drugs lard-arse mental implosion" while responsible for her kids she regained her notoriety. You don't see this happening to the same-age, same sort of artist, Christina Aguilera because Christina has not coughed up her life all over the red carpet.

Britney has reachieved fame, possibly deliberately, by behaving really badly. I can't help but feel a little schadenfreude. Having said that, those photographers were a bit over the top. Sure, it's their job to get the pictures, but they could have been a little less animal about it.

[me5354]

What are the chances of Britney having a huge stash of porn done when she was still 20, hidden away and to be sold when shes completely out of media value?

jokes aside; I would think its about time we all got bored of her now...

[acrobat]

To be fair, Britney's getting this stuff now because of her infamy,

I agree with that infamy bit. The rest is a bit harsh though. That last sentence nails it quite nicely. They could have been less animal about it. But the problem is, there is no reason for them to do that. They make more money by being vicious animals and there are no laws to tell them to do otherwise, so its all relying on their ethics... which don't exist So it will continue, and probably just get more and more extreme over the years. Until something really bad happens.

What are the chances of Britney having a huge stash of porn done when she was still 20, hidden away and to be sold when shes completely out of media value?

jokes aside; I would think its about time we all got bored of her now...

The wierd thing is, most people I know where bored with her about 9 years ago or whenever... The only reason why she is still talked about, seems to be because the media keep her image alive, along with anything else they can hype up - just to sell stupid magazines and stuff. Its the same as J-lo and ben affleck or brad pitt and whatsherface. I doubt many people care what they are doing, who they are marrying and what their latest kid is called. But it all gets hyped up in rag magazines and some people must buy into it I suppose.

[TooNice]

Infamy, fame - I don't make too much between the two to be honest. But yea, when I said 'some of her actions', I pretty much meant all the negative stuff that I didn't care about but was vaguely aware of due to the media attention. I guess a lot of people find thrills in hearing the latest taboo regarding a celebrity, so the non-hardcore fan are more likely to hear about X getting a speeding ticket than Y donating money to charity. However, I do believe that media can keep her image alive *only* because she does things that can be hyped about. If she were retire from the business and become a full time mother (she's got a kid, right?) and take some course - doesn't have to be bio-engineering - could be an art or acting class and lay low for 3 years I am sure the media will simply go after someone else. After that she could come back in the show business whether it is as a singer or actress. She'll lose recognition, but most likely gain some privacy too (at the end of the day, she's no royalty). But would she want that? Or perhaps push come to shove she is willing to pay the current price.

I do agree with some earlier example that taking picture people in a private property is out of line. This posted video though, do not appear out of the ordinary (celeb getting out of court getting mobbed).

[Optical668]

Anyone notice the damage to the front left of her car.... I wonder if she ran down a few paparats or something. Be awesome if she just floored it and ran them all down, if she did that she would def get my respect.

Serously tho if they did that to me id just floor it and run them all over be like time you guys learnt that cars vs bones = car wins.