Let me be absolutely clear about this: the following is not about getting back at paparazzi for not publishing the photographs where I am making out with Kate Moss.
Paparazzi always cross the line; by definition. They are journalists, photographers or even editors before they trespass the boundaries of decency. The excuse they come up with, offering what people want and are willing to pay for, is paper thin. I don’t think a drug dealer gets off the hook with that same excuse.
A young talented Belgian football player went to England. Through hard work and sacrifices the boy was soon in demand by major clubs, willing to cough up considerable sums of money to have Romulu Lukaku with them. Last in line was Manchester United who paid over 100 million dollars for having Big Rom in their team.
So two overweight paparazzi set their gear up and filmed training after training. And persistence paid off: somewhere half through the second day Big Rom let a ball roll right between his legs. They sold that image that same day. Everybody chimed in, saying 100M was a waste of money. The paparazzi played the public opinion well, reinforcing the general idea football players are overpaid.
In another occasion they even went further in playing the public opinion. They wrote Big Rom had refused to collect a premium issued by a renowned beer brand,. And why? Because he was a fervent Muslim. Which he isn’t. Big Rom is a choir boy and first thought it was unnecessary to refute. But that only fuelled the discussion. Much more than Lukaku’s faith, they wanted to play the muslim card. Bad boys. Eventually the issue got settled in court.