Nicole Richie gets restraining order against two paparazzi
A Los Angeles judge today granted a temporary restraining order against two paparazzi accused of stalking Nicole Richie and her young children.
The restraining order, which was signed by L.A. Superior Court Judge David S. Cunningham III, requires that the men, Eduardo Arrivabene and Ivon Miguel, stay at least 100 feet away from Richie and her two young children, Harlow Madden, 2, and Sparrow Madden, 6 weeks.
In a statement attached to the order, Richie said that she was involved in a car crash on Oct. 5 as the men were attempting to photograph her with her family. Since then, she said, the men’s harassment “occurs on a daily basis....I am fearful that [their] continued presence may cause yet another accident, this time with my infant children in the vehicle.”
Richie, the daughter of singer Lionel Richie, is perhaps best known for her television series with then-best friend Paris Hilton, “The Simple Life,” in which the two women lived for a month in rural Arkansas. But since then, she has become a multi-media force, designing jewelry and clothing lines, and even authoring a semi-autobiographical novel. Pictures of Richie and her partner, singer Joel Madden, are frequently splashed across tabloid and mainstream magazines.
Despite numerous run-ins over the years between celebrities and photographers attempting to capture their every move, the granting of such a restraining order against celebrity photographers is very rare. That’s due in part to 1st Amendment protections, and to the fleeting nature of celebrity — as fortunes ebb and flow, so do the packs of photographers who follow stars.
In the early 1970s, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis went to trial to obtain an order against photographer Ron Galella, who had relentlessly pursued the former first lady and her children. In interviews three decades later, Galella said that the trial made him more famous and helped him earn more money.
But in the last few years, the prices that paparazzi photos can fetch have soared so high that photo agencies have begun putting full-time teams of photographers on certain celebrities.
In the restraining order, Richie says that the men have sat outside of her house, waiting for her to leave, following her and her family “almost daily, stalking our home, as we try to go about living our lives.”
Richie’s attorney, Mark Geragos, called the men’s conduct dangerous. “There’s a fine line between being a paparazzo and a stalker, and these two clearly crossed it,” Geragos said.
A follow-up hearing is scheduled for Nov. 16.
-- Andrew Blankstein and Cara Mia DiMassa
Photo: Nicole Richie poses on the red carpet during the opening night of "The Devil Wears Prada." Credit: Los Angeles Times
Good for her. People need to stand up to these paparazzi. Freedom of the press does not mean that they can do whatever the hell they want to whoever they want.
Posted by: Julie | October 30, 2009 at 07:44 PM
No person should have to live in fear... give her a break!! Celebrity or not, she has a life outside of what we see. She deserves the freedom. xx
Posted by: MLEstyle | October 30, 2009 at 08:42 PM
YAY!!! Good for you Richi!!! hopefully a law will be passed soon to help stop the paparazzi. I live in L.a. and its scary when you get in the cross path of a paparazzi
Posted by: HC | October 30, 2009 at 08:57 PM
Why does anyone want photos of this family, and why should we stare at photos of a mother with her two young children? How creepy.
Posted by: Fleabell | October 30, 2009 at 09:21 PM
Stalking legislation needs to be increased for ALL stalking crimes. What good is a restraining order if the only one watching the stalking is the victim? We need legislation to expand resources and training to protect people being targeted from not only paprazzi, but gang recruiters, organized criminals, bullies at school and work, and community stalking and harassment when whistleblowing. Call or write your representatives to change stalking legislation.
Posted by: donalds | October 31, 2009 at 06:15 AM
Why is she a so called celebrity, she not cute nor sexy...who knows...
Posted by: TheBigPicture | October 31, 2009 at 09:53 AM
Uh, Nicole, first you are not a celebrity being that you are talentless and secondly a 2 year old is not an infant.
Posted by: jenn | October 31, 2009 at 10:38 AM
She shamelessly flaunts her personal life for her own financial gain, then wants to arbitrarily draw the line? It doesn't go both ways.
Posted by: Rod Smith | October 31, 2009 at 12:14 PM
To the author, you should clarify that the photo above *does not* depict PAPARAZZI. Those are photo journalists covering a red carpet event! If this type of libelous misrepresentation continues on news sites, myself and all fellow press photographers will be filing suits against any news organization misrepresenting photo journalists as "paparazzi".
Posted by: BP | November 11, 2009 at 01:43 PM