Paparazzi Archives

Sunday

June 18, 2023

The history of a Britney Spears masterpiece

The year was 2007. The Bush administration was launching bombs in the Middle East, the economy was collapsing and pop songstress Britney Spears was standing in a recording booth at Sony’s New York City office. As Spears waited to lay down vocals, producers Ezekiel Lewis and Christian “Bloodshy” Karlsson discussed the latter’s condo in Bangkok, Thailand. “Oh, Thailand,” Spears said, according to Lewis’s recollection. “Why don’t we go and do the songs in Thailand? Let’s go to Thailand. I have the plane coming tonight.” Lewis looked across the studio at Karlsson and mouthed, “What the fuck? Is she serious?” She was dead serious. “Well, why don’t we get this one down first, and then maybe let’s think about it tomorrow?” he said.

Friday

June 2, 2023

Cockburn

Explaining Prince Harry’s costly legal spree

“A person should not just be able to buy special police services,” Prince Harry was told last week after losing a legal challenge over the UK Home Office’s decision to not allow the government to pay for his security when visiting Britain. The man that begged for the world to see him as "Just Harry, drop the prince," had to be reminded that the Metropolitan Police was not for hire, and that privately-funded protection would undermine public confidence in London’s police force. This is just one of the ongoing court battles that Harry has on his plate at the moment. It seems that tending to his chickens, being hired on as "Chief Impact Officer" at a hippy-dippy wellness company BetterUp and taking part in his worldwide privacy tour is less time consuming than one might think.

Tuesday

May 23, 2023

Kara Kennedy

‘Rent-a-pap’: inside the murky relationship between paparazzi and celebrities

The clamor of voices, the snapping of shutters, the dazing glare of bulb after bulb. A celebrity is whisked into a waiting car by a no-nonsense staffer, holding back the throng so they can make their escape. But just how easy is it to cause this scene? This week, I put on my most refined accent and dialed the number of a photo agency to find out. “Hi, I’m a publicist and I have a new client looking to move from London to LA.” “What kind of client?” “She’s done a lot of reality TV and she’s a fashion influencer, mainly on TikTok. I’d prefer not to name her at this point.” “Ok. What are you looking for?” “I was — we were — hoping to create some buzz around the move, something that’ll get her into the papers.

Monday

August 15, 2022

Matt McDonald

Di another day

I was reprimanded by my parents for talking during the minute’s silence at Princess Diana’s funeral. In my defense, I was six years old at the time. Almost twenty-five years have passed since that fateful night in Paris, when the People’s Princess was pursued by the press one last time. In the years since, Diana’s legacy has hung over not just the British royal family, but the relationship between society and celebrity. Her death marked one of the first real moments of global introspection: was our paparazzi too invasive, our press too dogged? We now look back at the media’s treatment of Britney Spears, Whitney Houston and Lindsay Lohan and ask the same questions. But it all goes back to Di.

Monday

April 20, 2020

Dominic Green

The Meghan & Harry Show will end in tears

Just as we were getting used to the headlines about hospitalization and mortality rates, the really bad news arrives. Meghan and Harry are back. After scuttling to California before they were isolated in the hell of a luxury rental in Vancouver, the unemployed ex-royals are loose on the streets of Los Angeles. Disguised as two Postmates workers, they’re delivering bags of food to already vulnerable members of the public and making sure to be filmed doing it. Think Candid Camera, without the candor.Like everything this spontaneously warm and down-to-earth couple does, this stunt combines a cold whiff of careful planning with their signature aroma, a complex blend of farce, vanity and self-destruction.