HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — John Mayer made a plea for public safety on Thursday, urging the Los Angeles City Council to place tougher restrictions on the paparazzi.
"I don't sit before you today to ask that you ban the paparazzi," the 30-year-old singer testified in a hearing about establishing tougher controls on paparazzi. "I'm asking you to regulate it, officialize it, tax it, legitimize it."
Mayer said that changing times have made restrictions necessary.
"I don't want to beg the city of Los Angeles to give me 1987 back. I love being a famous musician in 2008," he said. "I embrace technology, but I also believe in thoughtfully adapting it to fit within a societal framework. And in the specific areas of both tracking and close-quarter engagement by the paparazzi, there are changes that must be made."
Among his suggestions were a law requiring "an acceptable distance" between photographers and an "unwilling subject." Mayer also suggested a "big white P on a yellow license plate [that] says the driver works for an accredited photo agency" or press credentials "worn in plain sight."
"Regulating the paparazzi won't bring an end to modern-day media coverage, just as the newly enforced hands-free law hasn't stopped people from talking on cell phones while they drive," Mayer testified. "It's only an adaptive measure put in place to respond to some of the ways that living in a technological free market can compromise personal safety."
In addition to Mayer, actors Eric Roberts and Milo Ventimiglia were also scheduled to testify at the hearing.
One individual who doesn't feel there's a need for change is LAPD Chief William J. Bratton, who set off a time bomb with his comments about stars blowing things out of proportion.
"If you notice, since Britney started wearing clothes and behaving; Paris is out of town not bothering anybody, thank God; and, evidently, Lindsay Lohan has gone gay, we don't seem to have much of an issue," he told KNBC-TV Thursday morning, according to the Los Angeles Times.
"So as far as all this grandstanding and foolishness, waste of city time on this issue — and the fact that I felt aggravated enough about it to interrupt my workout to come over and set the record straight, LAPD has no intention of participating in this farce," he added.
Needless to say, Bratton's comments ruffled quite a few feathers, in and out of city hall.
"He disrespected elected officials and celebrities that were involved," L.A. City Councilman Dennis Zine told Us Weekly. "Celebrities should have the freedom to do as they wish and the paparazzi are infringing upon their right to live."
Article © ASM — All Rights Reserved
- Comment
