10 Paparazzi Who Got What They Deserved

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You are being followed. There is a creepy person lurking in the shadows. You have your young child by your side. You see the person following you and immediately get concerned. If you get into your car and that same person is recklessly following you and nearly causing your car to crash, then there is only one acceptable word to call them: a stalker. Of course, there is another name for these kinds of people: paparazzi. One peg above lawyers, paparazzi are bottom-feeding troll who often attempt to generate controversy with the lens of their cameras.

Paparazzi often hound celebrities with relentless abandon, applying a tremendous amount of pressure to their victims. Thus, celebrities become antiheroes. They are victims and often are forced into impossible situations. They either will fight back against the paparazzi who are intruding upon their personal space, or they allow themselves to be stalked by these low-lives. It is a difficult option. Thus, there are numerous run-ins between celebrities and paparazzi. And sometimes, those run-ins get pretty crazy and the paparazzi finally get it. These are 10 Paparazzi Who Got What They Deserved.

10. Britney Spears Umbrella Incident

Oops…she sure did it. Britney Spears, the one-time young pop icon and successor to Madonna, had a meteoric rise of success. After her successes, Britney had a bit of a meltdown following her run of mega-hits. And with the meltdown came shaving her head and attacking the paparazzi. It was 2007 when Britney, in between rehab stints, used an umbrella as a weapon and attacked the SUV of a paparazzi who wouldn’t leave her alone. The year was a bad one for Britney, who not only went bald that year but also suffered numerous personal setbacks. After that, however, she recovered.

9. Justin Bieber Smashes Car Into Parked Pap

Bieber Fever! Sorry, had to be done. Justin Bieber getting angry is so cute. The Canadian icon and pop singing hit-maker was originally known for his squeaky clean image. But after a great deal of success, The Biebs decided to go bad. He went from a scrawny kid to getting tatted up and even a little jacked up. Then Bieber had a bit of a run-in with the paparazzi on the Sunset Strip - literally. Bieber allegedly smashed into a photographer outside The Laugh Factory with his car. The actual circumstances are sketchy, but Biebs was able to avoid prosecution.

8. Hugh Grant Kicks Pap

Hugh Grant is a name that draws a lot of folly when it comes to issues from his past. The successful actor who was caught on the Sunset strip for getting a little extra oral pleasure from a street walker, had a lot of work to do in order to repair his reputation. The paparazzi were all over him and eventually got too close too often. In 2007, Grant was pinched in London, England for attacking a paparazzi. Those charges would ultimately be dropped. But Grant’s temper once again flared in 2009 when he kicked a TMZ cameraman in the family jewels. Hugh may play a mild-mannered Brit on the big screen, but don’t try his patience and stick a camera in his face. He can be as fist as an alley cat.

7. Alec Baldwin Roughs Up Paparazzi On Many Occasions

When it comes to violating paparazzi, no one quite does it like Alec Baldwin. The oldest, most successful and most temperamental of all the Baldwins, Alec has had many, many run-ins with the paparazzi who regularly take a beating at his hands. Baldwin has made no secret how much he despises the intrusive leaches. Baldwin attacked a paparazzo as recently as May of 2016 when the camera snapped in the direction of his wife. Baldwin got into the paparazzo’s face and began cursing him out, nose-to-nose. In both 2012 and 2013, Baldwin got physical with the paparazzi when he pinned photogs against a car and threatened them with violence. Beware if you are a tourist and have a camera around Alec Baldwin. Better be sure to identify yourself right away before he lands a right cross on your cheek!

6. Lindsay Lohan Runs Over Pap's Foot

Cue the Lilo bell! The hot mess that is Lindsay Lohan arrives on the list with great grandeur. Lindsay Lohan is a juicy bit of entertainment for the paparazzi. She became irresistible in every way with her epic downfall. Too much partying, alcohol and drugs were Lohan’s vices that ultimately led to her downfall. But one day she became enraged with an annoying pest. Lohan allegedly got so annoyed by the paparazzo that she ran over his foot with her car. After that incident, the two were able to settle things out-of-court, sparing Lohan any further legal damage.

5. Shia LaBeouf Chases Down Photographer

We go from one crazy to the next. Shia LaBeouf starred in some monster blockbuster films which include The Transformer series. Shia isn’t exactly a figure we root for these days. However, being that he is virtually stalked with regularity by photogs, he has taken to running them down and chasing them in hopes of intimidating them. One incident had Shia tossing coffee on another stalking paparazzo. The 2010 incident featured Shia LaBeouf taking a break from filming the movie Transformers 3 at a café. The paparazzo wouldn’t leave him alone so he got up and chased that paparazzo down, throwing coffee on him. Shia has also gotten into the habit of stealing their cameras and forcing the police to come out in order to return the camera back to them. The gist: Shia does not get along well with the paparazzi.

4. Woody Harrelson - Mistook Paparazzo For A Zombie

Woody Harrelson has never been one to shy away from controversy. The hemp loving actor has made few secrets about his affection for “the green.” But Harrelson has also had run-ins with the paparazzo during his career. The incident took place at La Guardia Airport. Harrelson had just finished filming the cult hit Zombieland. Harrelson was walking through the airport with his daughter as the paparazzo in question was lurking. In one of the most classic defenses for assaulting a stalking photog, Harrelson had this to say: "I wrapped a movie called 'Zombieland,' in which I was constantly under assault by zombies, then flew to New York, still very much in character. With my daughter at the airport I was startled by a paparazzo, who I quite understandably mistook for a zombie.” We’ll take that response to the bank, Woody

3. Bjork - Beat Down

Bjork had a big run in the late 90’s and early 2000s. The pop star and Icelandic native has always been a volatile figure. With millions of album sales across the world (estimated at over 30 million), Bjork has seen her share of success. Thus, paparazzi are never too far away from her. So in 1996, when she flew her son, Sindri, into Bangkok, and the paparazzi got too close, Bjork went crazy. She felt the paparazzi were getting too close to her son and she attacked. Bjork flipped out on one nearby reporter who said, “Welcome to Bangkok.” That’s right, those words caused Bjork to lose her mind and go MMA on the female reporter who got pummeled by numerous Icelandic haymakers. Our advice, if you see Bjork, NEVER welcome her to your city or wish her a nice day…and no eye contact…ever!

2. Kanye West Grabs Camera And Smashes It

One of the most polarizing figures in the entertainment industry today is Kanye West. Kayne not only had a very public feud (albeit, mainly one-sided) with all-American songstress Taylor Swift, but he then went ahead and married the best Kardashian, Kim. One of Kanye’s numerous encounters with the paparazzi occurred when the mercurial rapper was hit with three misdemeanor charges in 2008 after he allegedly wrestled with a photographer at Los Angeles International Airport, AKA: LAX (why do all these celebrity attacks go down at airports?). Kanye was alleged to have grabbed the camera and smashed it on the ground. The charges were dropped after Kanye agreed to a plea deal which included 50 hours of community service. Sadly, we are quite certain Kanye will be picking up trash at a street corner near you in the near future with his ability to find trouble with regularity.

1. Sean Penn - Once Dangled Pap From 9-Storey Building

Sean Penn is like the spotted owl of actors. He is very well known but is rarely seen. He is respected as one of the best actors in Hollywood. He also is known to have had his way with numerous beauties, spanning actresses, models and singers. The Oscar winning actor has in large part stayed away from the public eye, taking on a few acting roles here and there and dedicating himself to philanthropy and major causes. But his legendary temper has boiled over with numerous photogs. His most infamous encounter occurred when he was shooting Shanghai Surprise and he found a paparazzo literally hiding inside his bedroom. Penn grabbed the photog and dangled him from his hotel window, nine stories into the air. Penn was charged with attempted murder but fled the country before authorities could arrest him.

Sources: stylecaster.com;