People magazine and celebrity news blog JustJared.com have joined the fight against unauthorized paparazzi photos of celebrities’ children.
Just Jared, which was founded in 2005 by Jared Eng, is the first celebrity blog to take this stand and says it will not publish any unapproved photos or videos of celebrities’ kids who are not public figures themselves, effective immediately. Exceptions to the rule include consensual photos and pictures that are shared directly via social media. The site has actively scaled back on content featuring photos of celebrities’ children, but recent discussions with actresses Blake Lively, Jaime King and Kristen Bell prompted Eng to take the next step.
In a recent letter, People editor in chief Jess Cagle echoed similar sentiments, saying that “of course, we still run a lot of sanctioned photos – like exclusive baby pictures taken with the cooperation of celebrity parents, and photos of stars posing with their kids at events (like a red carpet) where they’re expecting and willing to be photographed. But we have no interest in running kids’ photos taken under duress.”
“Kids of public figures have a right to be respected as private citizens, so unauthorized photos will no longer have a place on our sites. As the first blogger to take this stance, I hope other media outlets will follow suit. We plan to work closely with celebrities and their teams to enforce a #NoKidsPolicy,” said Eng.
This has also been an issue with actors like Halle Berry and Jennifer Garner. Last summer, the two gave testimonies in front of the Assembly Judiciary Committee at the California State Capitol, which resulted in California Gov. Jerry Brown signing a bill aimed at keeping paparazzi away from the children of celebrities.
