Celebrities have long protested paparazzi photography of their children, who often become unwitting participants in the exploitation of their parents' images -- and now two gay journalists have joined the cause.
Yesterday, out editors Jess Cagle of
People magazine and Jared Eng of pop culture website
Just Jared sided with the celebs, vowing to discontinue use of photos of celebrities' children taken against their parents' wishes. "We pride ourselves on covering entertainment and human-interest stories with respect for the truth and compassion for our subjects," Cagle wrote on
People's website."We grow and evolve by listening to our audience," he continued, "but also by being fair to the people we write about in print and online." Leaving open "rare exceptions based on the newsworthiness" of the photos, Cagle vowed to eschew any photos taken "under duress."
Over at
Just Jared, editor in chief Jared Eng introduced the
#NoKidsPolicy, declaring the site would no longer publish "unauthorized photos or videos of celebrities' children who are not public figures themselves." Eng's decision was based in part on recent discussions between the editor and actresses Blake Lively, Jaime King, and Kristen Bell. "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," Eng told the
Los Angeles Times. He added, "As the first blogger to take this stance, I hope other media outlets will follow suit."
Stars who who have spoken out publicly against paparazzi photos of children are actresses Jennifer Garner and Halle Berry, who lobbied the California Senate in August for stronger punishments for paparazzi who photograph celebs' kids.
