Mail Online
Abbie Chatfield has rubbished suggestions she frequently ‘tips off’ the paparazzi about her whereabouts to ensure good photos.
The reality star, 29, shared a blistering video to TikTok in which she admitted she had alerted the paparazzi to her whereabouts before – but insisted it only happened once.
‘I did it one time, I think it is funny that people are so angry about people who call the paps on themselves,’ Abbie began.
‘It’s f**king weird to do it when you are going on a walk, like who gives a f**k? I would never call the paps for photos of me walking the dog!’
However, The Masked Singer star added she believed it was okay for celebrities to alert press photographers about their whereabouts if the money from the snaps was split between them.
‘I don’t think it is an evil thing to do because people can have autonomy over the photos taken of them. The reason why paps are creepy is because it isn’t consensual.
The brunette beauty added she arranged with an agency to be paid $1500 for tipping them off about which beach she and her then-boyfriend would be visiting.
‘If you can get paid for it, why not? The reason why I did it with my boyfriend at the time is the money. I wouldn’t do it again unless it was for a lot of money.’
Meanwhile, Ben McDonald, CEO of Matrix Media Group, told Daily Mail Australia that many celebrities had a working relationship with the paparazzi as a means of controlling their image.
He said that throughout his career he had developed working relationships with all kinds of celebrities, including Hollywood A-Listers and reality stars.
‘People in the public eye want to control their image. Authentic pap photos removes that ability so there is a desire to establish a working relationship, so they can control their image,’ he began.
‘A-Listers might use it for that very reason. We discovered where Orlando Bloom was staying while he was in Australia.
‘He comes out of the house, quickly spots us and he made an agreement that he will walk down the road holding hands with his ex-wife Miranda Kerr. We get a really lovely photo and after that we leave him alone.’
McDonald added that American socialite Kim Kardashian was one of the first big celebrities to develop an open working relationship with paparazzi – and that others quickly followed in her footsteps.
‘Kim capitalised best on this! There’s a benefit for having a working relationship with paps.’
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