Should celebrities have the right to privacy, without media invasion?

Being in the limelight and having the ‘celebrity’ title comes at a price. Although life seems to the prying eye to be all glitz and glamour, behind the scenes and in reality it’s not all it’s made out to be.

Actors, singers, politicians, presenters, authors and even the royal family experience a breach of human privacy. Some people say ‘oh its what they signed up for’ and ‘they enjoy publishing their lives’ and yes in some cases this is true, however in others it couldn’t be more different. 

Undeniably, journalists do have a difficult job, challenging their morals of people’s seclusion with fulfilling their job role. But are there clear limits as to how much of celebrity’s lives the media can publish? Obviously not, because each and every aspect of a celebrity’s life is consumed by an article, headline or photograph, raising questions such as is it ethically right to sit outside a child’s nursery and take pictures of them with long distance lenses through the windows just because their parents are in a high profile job?



Above: Poster promoting the protection of celebs

76% of the public that participated in a survey on the topic agree that people living in the spotlight have to right to a private life and freedom in their own surroundings.  Some say ‘paparazzi have no right to interfere in what people do outside of their work.’  This statement sums up the reason that it’s wrong for a-listers to have to experience the harassment and intrusion that the press cause in their lives. What they do to earn money, whether it be acting or singing, is a job, and just like every other human being they should be able to leave their metaphorical ‘office’ and return home and back to their personal lives without it being displayed all over the glossy pages of a magazine or on the front page of the newspaper. Just like the next person they should be able to make mistakes and learn from them without the fear of it jeopardising their whole career.

 Furthermore, although a lot of the blame of the invasion of privacy is on the press, behind that lay an army of consumers for whom the stories are being created. Some people strive on reading about others lives, the misfortunes and the amazing opportunities but when does it all become too much for the victims of the brutal industry? Would it affect your quality of life if everything you wanted to keep secret and personal was exploited for the world to see?

In conclusion, with fame comes a certain amount of attention, and celebrities understand that they become role models and have to set good examples but as well as this, all consumers and fans of these high profile people should understand that they are still human and have emotions. They still need space and time to themselves as much as the rest of us and so the should be granted that because at the end of the day, think how you would feel if you had your every move scrutinised and judged by the rest of the world and think how it would feel to have the truth twisted and lies written about you and the things you care about.

Media presentation1 from annie_coe