Kanye West -- just the latest chapter in the paparazzi wars

Even as two Malibu residents prep for their Oct. 14 arraignment on misdemeanor battery charges after a beach brawl with paparazzi last June, rapper Kanye West finds himself on the wrong side of the law with the often-reviled shutterbugs.

The list of celebs who have run afoul of papratz is long and illustrious. Sean Penn, arrested for a fight with photogs soon after his marriage to Madonna, also made news fighting for privacy at the funeral of his brother in 2006. Surfer Kelly Slater fought off paparazzi in Israel and wound up talking to police. Leo DiCaprio's bodyguards, who got into a shoving match with aggressive photographers, wound up under arrest. Britney Spears, besieged by photogs during her custody battle, paid the rent for many a paprat. Even Paris Hilton, who never met a photo op she didn't love, is no stranger to the paparazzi wars.

Some celebs come out victorious. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie won a round when camouflaged paparazzi tried to sneak onto the grounds of their rented French chateau and were arrested. A quartet of paparazzi who chased down Spears wound up in jail on $5,000 bail. Barbra Streisand, traveling in Paris, used the personal touch when she stopped a struggle between photogs and her bodyguards by getting out of her limo and posing.

Is there recourse? Malibu spoke with former Monicagate litigator, Ken Starr, about an anti-paparazzi law. L.A. toyed with a similar law, but the city's top cop, Bill Bratton, called it unenforceable. His solution? If  Hollywood's bad girls would just stay home, life would be a lot quieter.

-- Veronique de Turenne

Photo credit: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times 

Comments

[Bill]

If our current police chief insists that a law stopping the ridiculous behavior of the paparazzi (and their spoiled talentless targets)
is unenforceable, then may I suggest its time to find a new police chief.

[steven]

Score one for the paps
Kanye West just thinks he's someone he's not and is full of himself. bout time the chipmunk looking subpar rapper got his.