Paparazzi Lord's Nauseating Justifications

Paparazzi agency X17 has been linked to the beating of a rival photographer and reportedly hires ex gang members, but its owner said at NYU today that we should all thank X17 paps for protecting our precious celebrities. X17's Francois Regis Navarre "suggested that a pack of paparazzi may have been able to prevent John Lennon's murder in 1980; [wife Brandy] Navarre said photos of partying starlets have sometimes spurred their families to get professional help," Ad Age reported. Funny that paparazzi king Francois is now so concerned with everyone's safety; it was only last week that he said, after being informed police were close to taking three of his photographers into custody in connection with the beating, "whatever they do on their own is their own business." The X17 freelance paps had allegedly told their victim, "you should not be here — only X17 gets these shots." Here's X17's justification for being so bloody aggressive:

"We're trying to get the shots before they go into rehab," said Brandy Navarre...

"We don't have to send 500 faxes and deal with a publicist," Ms. Navarre said. "We just go out there and do it."

But Bonnie Fuller, editorial director of American Media and former editor of Us Weekly, probably described the appeal of the approach most directly. "It's invigorating," she said.

The NYU panel was sponsored by the Atlantic.

[Ad Age]

7:18 PM on Wed Mar 26 2008
By Ryan Tate
1,327 views
26 comments

Comments

In Other News... at 07:28 PM on 03/26/08
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Hmmm. Paparazzi, or John Lennon. Which would we rather have here today?
BullfightsOnAcid at 07:36 PM on 03/26/08
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The Paparazzi could have also stopped Hitler from coming to power, kept the Titanic from sinking and halted production on Ishtar.
kingsquiddish at 07:40 PM on 03/26/08
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Why didn't the paparazzi stop george bush from getting elected?
Colonel Mustard at 07:47 PM on 03/26/08
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Oh, I get it now -- they were just trying to warn Diana about that dangerous tunnel!
pufflehuff at 07:52 PM on 03/26/08
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@Colonel Mustard: Awesomeness. Shame they've never tried to warn Camilla about... anything.

Um... the paps failed to prevent Britney's slow meltdown over the last decade (thus preventing the sullying of my pleasant memories of snogging to 'Baby One More Time' at sixth form parties. LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE!
BalknChain at 07:54 PM on 03/26/08
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There would be no "et tu, Brute?" if X-17 had been there. It's also a good degreaser.
pufflehuff at 07:56 PM on 03/26/08
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@pufflehuff: )
Dickdogfood at 07:56 PM on 03/26/08
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And if the paps were around in ancient times, they totally could've stopped the assassination of Julius Caesar and then Roman Empire would've never fallen and we'd all speaking Latin and going around in spaceships just like Carl Sagan said we would! Or, alternately, they could've stopped the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and then the Roman Empire would've never fallen and we'd all speaking Latin and going around in spaceships BUT WE'D ALL HEATHENS with no shot at getting to heaven! It is a mighty power that these paparazzo have! Will they use it for good...or EVIL?
Dickdogfood at 07:57 PM on 03/26/08
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@BalknChain: Oh, damn.
BalknChain at 08:07 PM on 03/26/08
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@Dickdogfood: ha! brilliant! Great minds and all that.
BalknChain at 08:09 PM on 03/26/08
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@Dickdogfood: I have to follow you now :)
valet_of_the_dolls at 08:22 PM on 03/26/08
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@Dickdogfood: That would never have happened; they would have been too consumed with following Caligula around to see who (or what) he was going to defile next.
Or hanging around the vomitoriums, which were the ancient world's version of the bathrooms at Hyde.
HiredGoons at 08:26 PM on 03/26/08
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@Dickdogfood: Someone needs to brush up on their Phillip K. Dick. We ARE still in the Roman Empire, this is all a three-dimensional hologram/illusion. But then, if you'd just ingest massive amounts of MDMA you'd know that...

However, this time around we have Bush Playing the Banjo While New Orleans Drowns. The second time is farce.
HiredGoons at 08:27 PM on 03/26/08
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Clearly they haven't been able to save Paris Hilton from herself though.
Helman at 08:31 PM on 03/26/08
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Question: would you rather sleep with South Park or the Simpsons?
MrInBetween at 08:47 PM on 03/26/08
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When did The Atlantic become Cracked Magazine?
HiredGoons at 09:24 PM on 03/26/08
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@Helman: Smithers in a Swing.
Helman at 09:42 PM on 03/26/08
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@HiredGoons: Smithers is yummy. But then, so is Marge.
BeRightBack at 10:26 PM on 03/26/08
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@Helman: @HiredGoons: Two words: Lick, spittle.
DonLaFontaine at 10:26 PM on 03/26/08
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@BullfightsOnAcid:

Or, at a bare minimum, stopped the production of Bio-Dome ...
Helman at 10:48 PM on 03/26/08
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@BeRightBack: Um, what's wrong with those words?
BeRightBack at 10:51 PM on 03/26/08
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@Helman: I was agreeing!
Helman at 10:55 PM on 03/26/08
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@BeRightBack: I am an idiot
BeRightBack at 11:12 PM on 03/26/08
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@Helman: But your avatar is adorable!
Helman at 11:28 PM on 03/26/08
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@BeRightBack: OK: love you!
Maulleigh at 07:59 AM on 03/27/08
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A humanitarian, that Navarre.