About two months ago, the Britney madness was in full swing. We all remember what that was like - the popwreck out and about every night, dozens of paparazzi on her trail, all the circus and drama of the pre-conservatorship era in the singer's life. But the seemingly chaotic universe of the paparazzi hounds that trailed Britney's every move is anything but random - it is in fact a dangerous place where violence is always just around the corner, as one paparazzi who almost lost his life thanks to Britney Spears reveals. Of course, given the fact that the paparazzi have pretty much become synonymous with modern evil - break of privacy, money in exchange for fame, constant, never-ending stalking - few would agree that one of them could actually be pitied.

However, photographer Alison Silva seems to care very little about the public perception on his infamous profession. Silva has revealed that he is suing paparazzi photo agency X17 after he was mercilessly beaten and left unconscious by three of its resident photogs outside Britney Spears' house on March 5th. Silva has identified three X17 paparazzi, which he claims approached him one block away from Spears' home and told him "you should not be here. Only X17 gets these shots". Next, Silva said he was given a savage beating and had to be taken to the hospital via ambulance. "They kicked and punched me almost to death. I was beat up for doing my job. Most people think, 'Oh, he's just a paparazzo, he's nothing.' But this is not nothing", he stated. "This is a big business, and if it weren't for people like me, those pictures wouldn't be in the magazines you enjoy", he finished.

X17 Owner Brandy Navarre never denied the incident took place, but claims the lawsuit is not valid for the very simple reason that photographers are freelancers, not employees. "They give me their pictures but whatever they do on their own is their own business", Navarre stated, denying any responsibility for the altercation. Also, another thing that has to be taken into account is that since Britney hasn't been driving around aimlessly lately, she stopped being the paparazzi money-maker she once was. "The subject of the photo is just not as interesting as it once was, so the prices do go down. We're moving on to other celebrities like Brad and Angelina and Jamie Lynn Spears", Navarre is quoted as having stated in an interview to Access Hollywood. Hopefully, there won't be any Britney meltdown any time soon to put them back on her case.