Celebrity Baby Privacy: Where To Draw The Line
After days of anticipation, the public finally got what they felt like they deserved as Kim Kardashian and Kanye West revealed the name of their new baby girl, North West.
First, let me say that North West is the coolest name I have ever heard. Followed only by Wolf Blitzer and Jean Claude Van Damme. Second, let me say that I love a new baby. I love seeing their little faces and tiny fingernails and I love finding out their names. But here’s the thing, Public: we are not entitled to know anything about or see this new baby just because he/she has celebrity blood.
When the celebrity in question is a person who makes his/her living by disclosing his/her personal life to the public, you may feel entitled to see pictures, names and private moments between the family, but you cannot forget that this celebrity is still a human being. Not to mention that this is a newborn child we are dealing with. Not only are we invading the privacy of the parents, but we are also invading the privacy of a young child.
I know that you can argue that maybe in the case of Kim Kardashian, she gave up her privacy long ago. Maybe you can argue that when you make a sex tape and then star in multiple reality shows bearing your name, you have basically given up your freedom from disturbance. It can feel like if you are willing to broadcast your life, then you should also release the name of your baby. But that is not true. While she may have signed off on revealing her personal life, her baby hasn’t.
What about other actors and actresses who are unfortunate victims of this same thing? Maybe to that you say “Oh Corinne, of course we should respect their privacy. They are artists and it’s different for reality stars!” but to this I say that you cannot have a double standard. Shouldn’t we be at least trying to be the bigger person? Isn’t it always best to be trying to make the world a better place? How would you feel if you just had a child and you can’t take the baby for a walk without being followed by flashing cameras and yelling reporters?
I always feel queasy when pictures of Amy Poehler and her children come up on my Tumblr dashboard because it means that a family was rudely disturbed by photo/money hungry paparazzi. Can’t we just let celebrities chill out in a park without taking pictures?
I mean, yes, some babies are born famous and we are almost expecting to know about them. For example, Prince William and Kate Middleton’s child will obviously be born into the spotlight. Not to mention it will have the grandest birth announcement of all time (Kanye reference intended). PopSugar.com explains here:
“The world will first find out about the royal baby’s birth when a formal announcement is placed on a special easel at the gates of Buckingham Palace. This proclamation will consist of a simple piece of paper signed by the medical staff that have assisted Kate Middleton with the birth. Once the paper is signed, it will be brought to a driver and rushed through the streets of London to the Palace, where it will be posted on the easel. Typically this process can take only a matter of minutes. Once the traditional announcement is made, the baby’s birth will also be shared on Twitter via Clarence House’s official account and emailed out to reporters in a press release.”
But I am okay with this. This birth announcement seems like a controlled announcement. I am okay with the Royal Family releasing some details and then dropping off the grid to raise their baby in peace, if that is what they choose to do. Many celebrities understandably insist that they be able to raise their children in peace.
In a series of tweets, Christina Applegate condemned the paparazzi for photographing her children. She wrote, “I want my daughter to live a normal life I want her to feel free to be who she wants, so paparazzi stop taking pics of her! Enough! It’s times like these where I understand why Michael Jackson had his kids covered – they were able to be anonymous until they decided to be public. We need a law against this! Taking pics of kids is sick! Sorry everyone. I’m pissed. Just imagine for one second you having fun with ur kid in the park and a bunch of a holes start surrounding you and freaking ur kid out.”
Halle Berry spoke out against it, as well, saying in this interview, “Something’s got to be done… it is becoming child exploitation… we’re stooping to a new low when we prop up our children and exploit them like this. Our children should be off limits – they are innocent little babies who don’t need to be exploited all over these magazines. I am fair game, I get it. but not my kids.”
What I am trying to say is that we should all take a page out of the Kardashian’s book and start caring more about ourselves and less about celebrities especially the children of celebrities. It’s an invasion of privacy, safety and just plain rude.
Unfortunately, websites that speculate about celebrity life, paparazzi that practically stalk celebrities and the gossip magazines that litter your dentist’s office exist not only exist but are perfectly legal. I would argue that they shouldn’t be. Personally, I think it would all be better if we just stopped caring about the lives of celebrities, but since that likely won’t happen, I understand that making it illegal to photograph celebrity children might be the best way to get these intruders out of the private lives of celebrity families.
I’m not advocating we sensor everything and stop making it legal to take photos in public, because that would be ridiculous. I’m saying that we need to leave the children out of this. Who care when they announce the baby name? Who cares what the baby was wearing at the playground? We need to remember that it is not our right to know everything about these celebrities. These kids did not choose a life in the spotlight and they should not be forced into it.
Readers, am I wrong? Do I just not get it? Is it OK to photograph celebrities and their kids and is it different for children of reality stars than it is for children of actors/artists? Is this the life a famous person chooses so should they just have to deal with it? I’m interested to hear what you think and I’m willing to be swayed in the opposite direction so please share you opinions below!
Featured image via ShutterStock.