Fifteen years after Diana, the Princess of Wales, died in a Paris car crash, the paparazzi (blamed in part for the fatal accident) are still at it -- perhaps even more aggressively.
LeAnn Rimes accelerated into another vehicle while trying to escape photographers in 2009; January Jones crashed into two parked cars in June 2011 after being tailed by two paparazzi; Tori Spelling crashed into a wall of her children's school while attempting to avoid photographers that same month; and just three months ago Lindsay Lohan collided with a truck in order to lose tailing cameramen.
Despite numerous paparazzi-induced "close calls," the landscape of this cat-and-mouse game has seen little change, despite a 2010 California motion, which instated a penalty for those who disobey traffic laws or drive in a reckless manner while in pursuit of commercial photos. Given the above examples, which all took place in California, the motion is of little use -- and is even being hotly contested in court as unconstitutional.
With no premium on privacy in Los Angeles, paparazzi are running rampant and even forcing some famous faces to consider a transatlantic move to escape the danger zone.
Halle Berry, who is currently embroiled in a bitter custody battle with her ex-boyfriend and daughter's father, Gabriel Aubry, is attempting to gain legal permission to move the 4-year-old to Paris, which may be the City of Lights, but is certainly not the city of flashes. In France, paparazzi are prohibited from photographing celebrity children or taking unwanted photos. Without the print potential, hounding celebrity families loses its appeal.
Salama Hayek similarly seeks refuge in Paris to shield her daughter from the United States' paparazzi culture. The Mexican beauty lives abroad with her French billionaire husband, Francois-Henri Pinault, and is also serving as an expert witness in Berry's custody trial, testifying that a celebrity with a young child -- Salma's daughter Valentina is 4 years old -- has a much higher quality of life in Paris.
If Tinseltown keeps it up, paparazzi may find more and more of their meal tickets packing up and shipping out.
