Being a superstar celebrity means that money, fame, glamorous parties, luxurious mansions, and lucrative brand endorsement deals are common sights. Most of them have worked their way up from barely making a dime to lavish lifestyles they have now, especially in the entertainment industry where everyone earns a top-dollar income.
However, having to deal with overly-obsessed photographers also comes with the package of being a celeb. Sometimes though, the paparazzi takes things too far, where instances result in verbal harassment, physical injuries, or even death. The madness has gotten so bad to the point where, sometimes, a celeb begs on their knees for privacy. To sum it up, here are the ten times paparazzi went too far.
10 When a Pap Crashed His Car Into Lindsay Lohan's Just to Take a Picture
Lindsay Lohan is no stranger to in-runs with the law and driving-related accidents, but in 2005, she was a victim of paparazzi's madness. As noted from Los Angeles Times, the Mean Girls actress was attempting to make a U-turn when Galo Cesar Ramirez rammed his vehicle into Lohan's Mercedes Benz SL65 just to take a picture of her. Luckily, the star and her driver managed to get away with only minor injuries, but the photographer, who admitted to being employed by Fame Pictures Inc. in Beverly Hills, was arrested.
9 When A Pap Was Killed After Attempting To Follow Justin Bieber
In 2013, a 29-year-old paparazzi was crossing the street after snapping photos of who he believed to be 18-year-old Justin Bieber in his white Ferrari. An SUV struck the photographer, and he was killed on site. Even more tragic, the singer wasn't even in the car at the time of the incident.
"While I was not present nor directly involved with this tragic accident, my thoughts and prayers are with the family of the victim," the "Sorry" singer said in a statement.
8 When Sean Penn Had To Throw A Fist Against A Pap Who Showed Up Near His Hotel Room
Sean Penn is no stranger to dealing with paparazzi. Sometimes, he goes as far as taking things to physical altercations. In 1986, a pap followed the star, who was busy promoting his Shanghai Surprise movie in Macau, to his hotel room.
Angry, the Oscar-winning actor dangled the paparazzi over a ninth-floor hotel balcony and was later arrested for attempted murder. The actor was in a relationship with Madonna, undoubtedly one of the most bankable pop stars at that time.
7 When Jennifer Aniston's Privacy Was Invaded On Her Own Turf
In 2005, Jennifer Aniston filed a lawsuit against paparazzo Peter Brandt for invading her privacy by snapping topless pictures of her while she's at home using a telephoto lens. However, the pap insisted that he intended to snap a picture of her with Vince Vaughn, who was reportedly dating the star at that time.
That wasn't the first time the Friends actress sued a pap. Two years before this, she gained monetary compensation worth $550,000 to settle another invasion-of-privacy lawsuit.
6 When A Pap Hit Nicole Kidman On a Bike
In 2013, Nicole Kidman made the laundry list of celebrities who have been injured by a photog. Riding his bicycle, notorious pap Carl Wu knocked Nicole Kidman to the ground while the actress was on a sidewalk outside her Manhattan hotel. According to TMZ, the photographer tried to hit the brakes and failed and did not intentionally hit the actress.
5 When Kanye West Had To Deal With Overly-Obsessed Paps At 4 AM
Kanye West is no stranger to tackling paparazzi, but in 2013, he was caught off-guard when a group of paps approached the rap star at four in the morning, as he was inside his garage. Angry, West told the photographers to "shut the f*** up" and suggested they "pick a profession with some type of respect to it."
"Y'all out here trying to make money off us. That's how it's going. It's 4 am. It's 4 am and you ask me how it's going. You know I don't want you to say nothing to me," he said.
4 When Paparazzi Cursed At 7-Year-Old Suri Cruise
Sometimes, the paparazzi doesn't care how old you are. Suri, Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise's daughter, already had her moves followed by paps by the time she was seven-years-old. In fact, in 2013, she yelled at the pap for stopping her from getting into an awaiting car on the streets of New York. As she got into the vehicle, one off-camera pap yelled "Bye, Suri, you little brat!"
3 When A Pap Uploaded Daniella Cicarelli's X-Rated Tape Online Without Her Consent
Moving to Brazil, Daniella Cicarelli, the former hostess for MTV Brazil's Beija Sapo, caused YouTube to be banned from the country for quite some time. In 2006, paparazzo Miguel Temprano took a video of the model while she was getting steamy with her boyfriend in Tarifa, Spain, without her consent and broadcasted it everywhere, including on YouTube and on the TV show Dolce Vita on Telecinco.
After a hectic legal process, the website was banned in the lawsuit for two days, and the lawsuit came to an end in 2015 after the Superior Court of Justice of Brazil granted her and her then-boyfriend $64,000 each.
2 When A Pap Obtained A Restraining Order To Keep Him Away From Former First Lady Jackie Kennedy
It's not only Hollywood celebrities who are cornered by hordes of paparazzi. Sometimes, it even involves government agents. Back in the 1970s, the former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy ordered the Secret Service to destroy camera equipment belonging to Ron Galela after their encounter in New York's Central Park. Later on, the pap attempted to sue Kennedy. He even got his life story documented by filmmaker Leon Gast in Smash His Camera.
1 When Princess Diana & Dodi Fayed Had To Flee Paps Before Crashing Their Car
The world will never forgive the paps for what happened to Princess Diana, Dodi Fayed, and Henri Paul on August 31, 1997. Diana, who was at the peak of her popularity, attempted to flee from crazed, reckless, and erratic paparazzi with her loved one and her driver before her Mercedes-Benz W140 crashed in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris. From actors and musicians to fellow politicians, many have condemned pap for their involvement in this tragedy.