Hollywood, CA -- Enough is enough, say professional
photographers. The hours spent hiding in bushes or sprinting along behind speeding
limousines can be stressful, but ever-increasing physical attacks by
celebrities are taking a terrible toll on paparazzi.
On Monday, embattled photojournalists demonstrated their
solidarity at a rally outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre along the Hollywood
Walk of Fame. Bitter and angry camera jockeys torched effigies of Sean Penn and
Bjork, flung cameras at passing celebrity motorists, and linked arms while
chanting, "Don't shoot me, I'll
shoot you."
"Verbal abuse is bad enough," said veteran image
harvester Rex Bolan, "because words can really hurt your feelings—but the
constant threat of injury is what has me thinking about retirement. I love what
I do but it's simply not worth the risk."
"Thank God the writers' strike caused the Golden Globes
award show to be scaled down," Mr. Bolan continued. "That event was
going to be a bloodbath!"