Paparazzi get

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While dining outdoors at Tra Di Noi last Saturday, I unfortunately witnessed a horde of rabid paparazzi obstructing Nicole Richie and friends as they tried to enter the restaurant. She had to have two friends walk ahead of her as a barricade and the unrelenting paparazzi were right up in their faces. I always thought these photos were taken with telephoto lenses but these photographers, and I use the term loosely, were close enough to get X-rays of her teeth.

After awhile, I saw what appeared to be lightning or fireworks coming from overhead behind the restaurant. I thought, “How nice, they’re doing fireworks at the carnival this year.” It took me a minute to realize that poor Nicole’s exit out the back did not elude the bright flashes that made disco strobe lights pale in comparison.

The following day while attempting to drive to Ralphs off of Webb Way, I noticed a half dozen abandoned SUVs on the street blocking the flow of traffic and in the parking lot, blocking cars that were parked from exiting their spaces. I thought a pedestrian had been bit. Wrong again. The camera-toting paparazzi came sauntering back to their illegally parked vehicles reminding me of game-hunters from Kenya. All I could think of was, “Where are Sean Penn and Alex Baldwin when you need them?”

As a non-celebrity living in Malibu, I find this intrusion appalling. I feel even worse for the actors trying to live a normal life, but can’t. I’d like to see some new laws put into effect that would discourage these despicable assaults of one’s right to enjoy their privacy. In the meantime, why don’t we stop selling the tabloids locally that employ these persona non grata?

Camille Gaon

Pacific Palisades