The Real Reason Princess Diana Lashed Out At Paparazzi At The Jurassic Park Premiere
The world was rocked in August 1997 by the death of Princess Diana, known around the world as "The People's Princess" and beloved by many (via Parade). Diana's life was taken in a car crash in Paris, as her driver Henri Paul attempted to evade the paparazzi that relentlessly tailed her and documented her every move. Also in the car were Diana's boyfriend, Dodi Fayed, and her bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones; each of them died on impact.
In the years that ensued, many began to see that the media scrutiny Princess Diana was subjected to was detrimental to her mental and physical health (via Independent). The British tabloid press was brutal towards Princess Diana, behavior many felt was mirrored in their treatment of Meghan Markle, Prince Harry's wife.
"I was with Diana when she was hounded by the media," Princess Diana's butler Paul Burrell recalled (via Insider). "Literally packs of photographers [...] chasing her like an animal." And given what Prince Harry witnessed happen to his mother, per Burrell, "He doesn't want to go through that again."
"His heart was broken when his mother died, as was William's, and he's never really recovered from that," Burrell shared. For this, and other reasons, Prince Harry and Markle have since left the royal family, as to help ensure history doesn't repeat itself.
What happened when Princess Diana attended the "Jurassic Park" premiere
One prominent example of the media menacing Princess Diana was at the premiere of Steven Spielberg's "Jurassic Park" at the Empire Theater in Leicester Square (via UPI). Princess Diana did not have Prince William or Prince Harry in tow — aged 11 and 8 at the time, respectively — as the film was potentially too scary for them.
It's also an instance highlighted by the podcast "You're Wrong About," hosted by Sarah Marshall and previously Michael Hobbes, which seeks to dispute "a person or event that's been miscast in the public imagination" — Princess Diana included (via Vulture). During this era in Princess Diana's life, they explain, the paparazzi would shout horrible things at Princess Diana in order to get a reaction out of her.
"And the problem is that once you blow up at them once, then they want to get the shot of Diana blowing up at the paparazzi," Hobbes says. At the "Jurassic Park" premiere that night, the paparazzi got what they wanted. Diana yells back at them, "Why don't you rape somebody else?" The Daily Mail then publishes a cartoon likening Princess Diana to T-Rex a la "Jurassic Park," and depicts her threatening the reporters.
"In the tabloid world view, there is no scenario in which a paparazzi could go too far," Hobbes explains — which, based on their treatment of Markle, is sadly an attitude that doesn't appear to have changed.