Back in the spotlight for the March 14 release of Veronica Mars, Kristen Bell has used the extra media attention to campaign against “pedorazzi,” the term she’s given photographers who attain and sell unauthorized photographs of celebrities’ children.
Bell recently ramped up the stakes of her battle against unwanted paparazzi by refusing to talk to outlets that buy photos from them. She tweeted, “I won’t do interviews 4 entities that pay photogs to take pics of my baby anymore. I care more about my integrity & my values than my career.” She has also publicly shamed at least two publication by name: People Magazine and E! News.
Now Bell has proved she’s not just tilting at windmills. TV’s Entertainment Tonight will be the first journalism outfit to sign up for Bell and husband Dax Shepherd’s boycott of pedorazzi pics. The show announced:
Since the birth of their daughter, Bell and Shepard have been vocal on this topic and decline interviews with media outlets known to purchase images from the paparazzi. Both actors have passionately campaigned, especially through their personal social media platforms, to motivate others and bring more attention to this cause. Media outlets using images celebrities post on their own social media platforms or of children attending red carpets and media events are not the issue.
By joining forces, ET and the couple hope that additional press outlets will follow their lead. ET’s sister show, The Insider independently adapted the “no kids” policy after meeting with Bell.
Bell states, “The support of ET, the most influential national entertainment newsmagazine, is invaluable in the fight against paparazzi taking photos of the children of celebrities without consent. By creating a greatly diminished demand for these images, it is my hope that these children will no longer be subjected to being followed, yelled at, taunted and having their privacy invaded on a daily basis. Hopefully, these children can return to their routines without having cameras relentlessly pointed at them. I am so grateful to Entertainment Tonight for helping us pave the way on this issue and hope we can count on other media outlets to adopt the same policy.”
