Paparazzi? Not In Kenya
The paparazzi culture in countries such as the big old USA is pretty successful in comparison to the Kenyan entertainment scene. This is because the fans there are thirsty (allow me to use that word) for information about their celebrities with preferences to scandalous information.
This has fueled the paparazzi culture with paparazzo’s doing bizarre things just to get a scandalous or dramatic reaction from the celebrity. The uglier and more embarrassing the picture is the more money a magazine or tabloid is willing to pay for the picture. This has led to the paparazzo’s tossing their moral compass in the Bermuda triangle and going over and under to get an outrageous and upsetting photo or video of a luminary. One of the victims of this culture includes Suri Cruise (8 year old daughter to Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes) who was called a bitch and a little brat by Paparazzi after they hounded her. Why would you call an 8 year old such names? That’s just off.
It will be a while before the Paparazzi culture in Kenya catches on since our showbiz scene is still a bit young and celebrities are still adjusting to hearing unpleasant info about them. But with paparazzi’ such as Pius Cheruiyot, this culture could actually thrive. For you among the few who have not heard of Pius, he is the only active bold Paparazzi in Kenya. Pius works for Pulse Magazine and has been on the receiving end of punches from celebrities such as Nonini who gave the man a Falcon Punch for taking a photo of him.
A rare photo of former lovebirds Brenda and Juliani taken by Pius (Photo SDE)
Anyhow celebrities may comfort themselves with the fact that we only have one true paparazzi in the 254 but pretty soon as the showbiz scene expands the pap culture will grow. When it does we will hear more of blatant invasion of privacy as the Kenyan press rarely comes up to your house window to takes shots of you with your children. We will also see more of celebrity breakdowns such as the one experienced by Britney spears. This is because seeing unflattering pictures of you on the internet and being stalked by Paparazzi constantly can drive even the most stable person crazy.
Photo Credit- Zimbio.com
Other effects can include road accidents such as the one that claimed Princess Diana. It is said that the princess was running away from the paparazzi before her car crashed and she passed away.
Just like everything else, the paparazzi have its advantages. For example if you enjoy attention your career can get an instant boost such as Miley Cyrus’. They can also be used to create a rapport for an upcoming album or movie .Also who can forget about job creation? Being paparazzi is also a job and if you are good at what you do you can make a decent amount of money from it.
Kenyan celebrities will not be popping champagne over the paparazzi but they are a necessary evil for your survival. To conclude this piece I will quote Ex- Us Weekly editor-in-chief, Janice Min, who says, “A celebrity is like an elected official. If you’re getting paid $20 million a movie, you have to rely on public goodwill to stay in office. You have to accept the fact that you’re a public commodity.”
