Blake Lively is furious the media published sneaky photos of her 3-year-old
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds have been very vocal about preserving the privacy of their two daughters, three-year-old James and one-year-old Ines, so when a paparazzo sneakily took shots of Blake and James on their way into Martha Stewart’s Easter party, the couple were not amused.
“Disturbing on so many levels”
In a sad example of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted, it seems that requests for the removal of these photos were quickly lodged with the various media outlets who had bought them.
Surprisingly, publications like Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar – “allies” of Blake who should be very familiar with family’s position on publishing photos of children – chose to run the shots of the preschooler and her mum.
Other more tabloid outlets (hello Daily Mail) popped them straight online too. No surprises there.
“End the stalking of children”
Blake’s team swung into damage control, slamming the photographer and imploring other outlets not to buy and share the pics.
“The photos were taken by a man hiding outside of a private party, which is disturbing on many levels,” Blake’s rep told Page Six.
“We appreciate all magazines, websites and publications who are standing by protecting the privacy of children and vowing to cut off the supply chain to help end the stalking of children.”
It seems this is a case of prioritising clicks over kids, and Blake is not going to take it lying down. Of course, once images are online it’s impossible to retract them all, and these photos of James and her mum will now circulate indefinitely.
#NoKidsPolicy
Blake and Ryan are not the only celebrities keen to point out that their kids are off limits. Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis are firmly against having their kids photographed or published online telling The Thrive Global Podcast, “It’s their private life; it’s not mine to give away. I think privacy is important, and I think that human beings are fragile. Our emotional state is fragile, and I think that ideas are very fragile, and if you launch them out into the cycle of judgement too soon, you get hurt.”
Chrissy Teigen recently questioned the fairness of being photographed covertly when she was supermarket shopping with her one-year-old daughter Luna.
“I used to assume people who got photographed in grocery stores weren’t really buying stuff they like and were getting paid for something,” Chrissy posted on Instagram alongside the pap shots, “but turns out the paps actually come inside the grocery store and capture your most intimate grocery cart items this is a travesty.”
Legal action and reform
George Clooney recently sued a photographer and the supply chain he was affiliated with, when the man trespassed on his property to sneakily photograph his baby twins.
“Make no mistake — the photographers, the agency and the magazine will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” George said through a rep.“The safety of our children demands it.”
Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard got on the front foot, launching the #NoKidsPolicy which asks media to promise never to publish photographs of celebrities’ children without permission. The couple said their daughter was being “terrorised” by the paparazzi.
Many of the media outlets Blake Lively’s team contacted have now removed or pixelated the photos of James, but it’s obvious that this shouldn’t happen in the first place.
A career in the public eye doesn’t mean you sign your kids over for the same scrutiny.
Read more about Blake Lively:
- Blake Lively roasts Ryan Reynolds
- Blake Lively is proud that she got off the couch
- Blake Lively says her daughter was born a foodie