14 DAY TRIAL // Earlier this month, Justin Bieber found out that there is such a thing as being “too famous,” when paparazzi stalked him on vacation on Bora Bora and, using long-lens cameras, snapped photos of him by the pool sans clothes. The photos were then posted online, where they spread like wild fire.
Regardless of how hard his attorneys tried to plug the leak, they weren’t able to, so in a matter of hours, everyone with an Internet connection and an interest in this kind of thing, had seen Justin at his most vulnerable. He’s not OK with that, by the way.
Justin Bieber and privacy violation
Until now, Justin has not addressed the frenzy around the photos, letting his attorneys do all the talking for him. And that, they did: the New York Daily News was one of the biggest media outlets to post the censored photos, and they were served with a cease and desist letter within hours of publishing them.
As of the time of writing, the photos are still available on the site.
In a new interview cited by People Magazine, Justin addresses the scandal and admits that it took him by surprise. When you have one of the biggest stars in the world, who practically grew up in the harshest kind of media attention, this admission speaks volumes.
“My first thing was like… how can they do this? Like I feel super violated,” he says “Like, I feel like I can't step outside and feel like I can go outside naked. Like you should feel comfortable in your own space… especially that far away.”
Bieber is right to feel outraged
Taking photos with a long-lens camera inside a person’s home is illegal, though that’s never stopped paparazzi from doing it.
Justin Bieber isn’t the only celebrity to become a target of such unsavory practices and to speak out on them. He and every other star in a similar position are right to feel outraged and even to seek legal action against those who take, sell or post the photos online.
Other celebrities who have been recently caught at their most vulnerable this way include Caitlyn Jenner (back when she was still going by Bruce Jenner and hadn’t come out as a trans-woman, as she smoked a cigarette outside her home in a dress and full makeup) and Duchess Kate Middleton (photographed sunbathing topless on vacation in France).