Stalk photos: How #FreeBritney reporting STILL rewards the paparazzi
Many photos in current news reports are from the paparazzi in the 2000s & the paparazzi stalk her to this day.
It appears that there is a generation gap between the largely young adult #FreeBritney movement and the middle age arbiters of mainstream news.
The #FreeBritney movement rails against the tabloids, paparazzi, and individual celebrities (e.g. Justin Timberlake, Perez Hilton, Diane Sawyer) for how they hurt Britney. Conversely, the mainstream press lauds youngsters for their openness to discussing mental health, body autonomy, consent, and general activism. While, I have criticized both for their lack of insight into how the mainstream media normalized the vilification of Britney.
I’m not a Britney super fan. I’m just someone who is the exact same age that also lived through a mental health crisis in 2007. At that time, the omnipresent disgust that the public and ALL of the media had towards Britney was poison into the heart of anyone experiencing serious mental health challenges. I did not know if anyone, including myself, could really ever “live” again.
SNAP: Pay Close Attention
Currently, there is a GLARING problem in many media reports. I’m not sure if young people don’t understand image licensing or older people don’t understand the implications of using both old and new paparazzi photos. Particularly, as Britney shared yesterday on her instagram that the paparazzi are CURRENTLY stalking her, thus she is still a lucrative target with all the danger that poses. These older photos often capture some of the most painful moments in her life. Are you truly telling her story when you use them?
“Britney Spears not only blazed a trail, she might just make us better humans”
— CNN June 25th, 2021
Yet, you will see two photos taken by paparazzi in this CNN story. Look for the tiny image credits in the corner of the photographs.
- “Britney Spears with her son, Sean Preston, in 2006” is a photo of her in a restaurant with her baby and the view appears to be through a window. This photo is credited to Mel Bouzad/Filmmagic/Getty Images. Ok, maybe this is one of those “staged” photos. Yet, Mel is a known paparazzo that has previously been profiled by USA Today:
Bouzad has been keeping Spears under 18-hour-a-day surveillance at her new Malibu home. The surveillance will be increased to 24 hours around the clock as Spears’ wedding date nears.
— A paparazzo stalks a pop star, USA Today via WLTX, 8/26/2004
2. In the photo carousel there is an infamous photo of Britney shaving her head with the caption reading “Spears shaved her head in 2007. Headlines at that time focused on whether the star was in the midst of a breakdown”. There were numerous paparazzi during that incident. This photo is credited to X17online.com who have tons of “candid” photos and describe themselves as:
X17 Agency is Hollywood’s leading celebrity photo agency, servicing tens of thousands of media outlets around the world with our high quality photos and videos. With a network of agents in more than 50 countries, our images are seen in the pages of important magazines and newspapers around the world, as well as on TV broadcasts everywhere from England; to Japan; to Croatia; to CNN, Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood and more, in the US.
If Britney really is going to “make us better humans”, as CNN suggests, then maybe we should just let her be human. We aren’t her responsibility. There is an increasing focus on buying goods that match our values, such as goods that are sustainable and cruelty free. We don’t have to limit press freedom to encourage ethical image sourcing in media reporting.
The article linked below only includes paparazzi shots.
Leading Up To Britney’s Crisis — Hollywood.com, December 8, 2013
I was just telling my sister today that Rihanna’s song “Umbrella” came out (March 24, 2007) very soon after Britney defended herself with an umbrella (February 21, 2007).
In my own spiraling mind, I thoroughly believed the two events were purposefully connected and it was a message of solidarity.
I would still like to believe so…
“By the time “Umbrella” came along, Spears was working on her fifth album, the aptly titled Blackout. Mike Stewart sent a copy of the demo to Larry Rudolph, her manager, who passed it along to Jive, her label. But Jive rejected the song, saying Blackout had enough material already.” — SPIN, 10/5/2015
Baby, ’cause in the dark
You can’t see shiny cars
And that’s when you need me there
With you I’ll always share
Because…
When the sun shines, we’ll shine together
Told you I’ll be here forever
Said I’ll always be your friend
Took an oath, I’ma stick it out ’til the end
Now that it’s raining more than ever
Know that we’ll still have each other
You can stand under my umbrella
