One Direction was/is one of the biggest bands of all time, so we’re to accept that the group of twenty-somethings from the UK will have to enjoy/endure the same level of fame right?
Crazy fans screaming their name, throwing underwear at them, signs asking members to marry them, autographs, selfies on the street, a wave, a smile, an acknowledgement on Twitter, a follow back even, all of this comes with the territory, but there’s so much more going on right now, and it’s going too far.
So let’s talk about what actually happened at LAX this weekend with Louis, his girlfriend Eleanor Calder, a group of fans and a photographer.
Footage released shows Louis shouting at a paparazzi who kept trying to take pictures of him and his girlfriend “oi, oi, oi” he shouts.
Immense: One Direction have had an insane amount of fame
But the photographer continues to shoot footage, Louis jumps on him, they fall to the ground, he wants the camera out of his face.
Suddenly Louis jumps up because he sees his girlfriend in a fight on her own, it looks like Eleanor is on the ground as female fans fight with her, Louis can be heard shouting for security, shouting “help”.
Was the paparazzi being aggressive? YES. Should Liam have fought him? NO. Does it still mean it’s okay for photographers/media to be forceful, to be aggressive? NO!
And let’s talk about the fans… one fan spoke to media after the brawl to say she was “pressing charges” against her so-called idol, saying he “threw her to the floor”, em…maybe that’s because you threw his girlfriend up against a wall?
She went on to say she was videoing Louis fighting with the pap when Eleanor tried to take the phone off her, so a fight ensued.
Did we learn nothing from Princess Diana’s tragic death? When she was literally chased into her own death by paparazzi?
Celebrities know you need those pictures, they know you want that selfie, but the fact that we all feel we DESERVE it shows just how crazy things have become.
Another One Direction star (who I won’t name) was out the other night and was seen refusing selfies with fans, a story I thought about running by then I stopped myself…because this guy has a right to a night out, a right to a life.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a fan of celebrities who are rude to fans and who refuse photos at events they are brand ambassadors for/working with (this happened at an event I attended where Kendall Jenner really wasn’t keen on taking selfies with people), but there is a limit and clearly people don’t believe that.
Targeted: Fans often hit out at 1D’s love interests | INSTAGRAM
How young female fans thought it was OK to fight with Louis’ girlfriend is scary, we’ve all seen Tweets and Facebook pages dedicated to hurting/killing some of 1D’s girlfriends, but this was real life, so it made these fan pages that we all laugh it all very real.
Do celebrities need our newfound ‘celebrity culture’ to sell records, land parts in movies, endorse products? YES. But there has to be a limit.
Cue Louis hitting out at the press, refusing interviews, pushing himself further away from the limelight and further away from the media – kind of the opposite effect to what that pap wanted.
And for one second can we just remember that this singer, who is no longer in the incredibly famous boy band just lost his mother? An emotional reaction to people invading his space isn’t so strange when you remember what he’s been going through.
It’s a two-way street with press and celebrities, and it’s a two-way street with fans and celebrities. You give us the pictures, we write the piece, you take a selfie with a fan, they keep buying your records, but any sort of aggravation is too far.
This reminds me of another story we reported on recently, when Gigi Hadid hit a man in the face because he grabbed her.
Paparazzi: Celebrities are followed all day long | WENN.com
Some thought she went too far, but a fan thinking it was okay to grope her was what really went too far.
As we delve more into this world of social media, selfies, mobile videos, photos etc, things seem to be getting darker and darker.
Next time if the celebrity really, really doesn’t want anymore photos, how about we leave them be instead of provoking them?
I know that at George Clooney’s wedding in Italy, for example, he walked up to the group of waiting photographers and press and asked them not to take any photos of their after party, but told them he and Amal would walk out of the venue and to take pictures then (some great shots by the way).
Said group agreed with the A-lister, took the nice wedding shots and spent the rest of the night just enjoying the city.
Because long-term, this is the only way this crazy relationship is going to work…
