What We Know About Blake Lively's Frightening Interaction With Paparazzi Stalking Her Children
Fame comes with what can seem like unlimited perks. Who wouldn't want millions of adoring fans defending your honor on Twitter, worldwide recognition, and a bank account so large it would make a whale blush? So many people can relate to having goals that include achieving fame because they too want their moment in the spotlight. However, being well known comes with a hefty price: your privacy. Celebrities have to deal with a double-edged reality, which sometimes includes run-ins with the paparazzi.
Far from just hyping up-and-coming celebrities, the paparazzi have also been known to cause irreparable damage to their physical and mental health as well. Princess Diana's tragic death was tied to the paparazzi chasing her car. Even her son Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle were involved in a near-fatal paparazzi car chase in New York. Singer Britney Spears was also famously a victim of incessant paparazzi car chases, and four photographers were once arrested as a result. Many other celebrities have come forward to condemn the freedom that tabloid photographers have to harass famous people at will.
"Gossip Girl" star Blake Lively has also lent her voice to this cause by detailing a "frightening" experience she had with the paps stalking her kids.
Paparazzi stalked Blake Lively and her three kids
Stalking and harassment are scary enough for any individual, but celebrities endure it from the paparazzi constantly. From car chases to getting photographed in private locations, the paps can wreak havoc on a person's life. And this is why renowned actor Blake Lively is taking a stand.
In the comments section of a now-deleted 2021 Instagram post by the Daily Mail Australia, the "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" actor called the outlet out for uploading photos of her smiling and waving with her children. According to the actor, the publication used the pictures to portray a happy family day out when they were actually taken under duress.
Lively's comment, which was archived by @blakelivelyaustralia, read: "You edit together these images together to look like I'm happily waving. But that is deceitful." The actor went on to explain that the cameramen kept jumping out at her children from bushes and stalking them all day long. Things got so bad that a stranger had to step in to talk to the paparazzi and demand that they behave. When Lively tried to reason with the photographer, he would run away and wait to ambush them again. "Where is your morality here?" she demanded. "I would like to know. Or do you simply not care about the safety of children?" She asked Daily Mail Australia to delete the photos to protect the privacy of her kids, to which they obliged.
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds are raising their kids far from Hollywood
With all the lights and cameras that come with fame, it's no wonder that so many celebrity parents like actors Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds don't want their kids in the spotlight. They are adamant about giving their little ones a chance to grow up normally and experience everything childhood has to offer without the looming threat of paparazzi lurking behind every corner.
Lively told Marie Claire U.K. that because of their dedication to prioritizing their children's privacy and safety, she and husband Reynolds won't be raising them in the entertainment capital of the world. "[I]n order to give her as much normality as possible, we want her to have a childhood like we had. So we can't really throw her into the lion's den that is LA, not that we really want to." The "A Simple Favor" star also told Marie Claire in 2016 that while she understands that paparazzi comes with the territory, it doesn't stop her from shielding her kids from them. "I'd rather not have to deal with it at all, but we knew the lifestyle we were getting into, and while it's hard ... it's another thing when it's our child," she said. "Ryan had a nice, normal upbringing, and we want our kids to have the same normal life that we had."