(Getty Images)
HollywoodLife has no shame, and as they proved this week, no respect for celebrity privacy. On Thursday, the webloid gleefully posted photos of Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher’s baby, even though the stars have not released any pictures of Wyatt. And they weren’t just any old snapshots. They were not even paparazzi pictures. They were PERSONAL FAMILY PHOTOS that LEAKED online. See screengrabs below.
HollywoodLife knew the pictures weren’t shared with Kunis and Kutcher’s consent, but still happily published them with the headline, “Ashton Kutcher & Mila Kunis’ Baby Pics Leaked: Meet Wyatt Kutcher.” The webloid squealed, “Thanks to a leaked family holiday card, we get to feast our eyes on Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis’ beautiful baby girl, Wyatt, for the very first time!” In actuality, thanks to stolen material, HollywoodLife capitalized off photos that the couple had chosen not to share with the world.
HollywoodLife tries to pass the blame on to fan sites and Twitter accounts, writing how the pictures first appeared in those places. The site, however, still made the choice to re-publish them. Gossip Cop saw the holiday card had surfaced online in late December. Because we respect celebrities’ privacy, and especially their non-fame-seeking kids’ privacy, we chose not to publish it. And, exploiting Kunis and Kutcher further, HollywoodLife even posted a second story, on Friday, in which they again showcase the leaked photos and speculate whether Wyatt looks more like her mom or dad.
Again, Kunis and Kutcher have not wanted to share any photos of their daughter with the media. They made that clear from the start, when Kutcher posted multiple baby photos (including ones of animals) on his website after Kunis gave birth, with the message, “Here’s your baby photo. Well, one of them is. Now can the helicopter please stop hovering over our house, there is a baby sleeping inside!” Kutcher even wrote to his newborn, “May your life be filled with wonder, love, laughter, health, happiness, curiosity, and privacy” (emphasis added). And the stars have each made several talk show appearances in recent weeks, gushing about their little one, but purposefully not revealing any pictures. It was up to Kunis and Kutcher to decide if and when a media outlet could post family photos. HollywoodLife has now taken that away from them, and a number of outlets are disturbingly following suit.
Last year, a number of stars, led by Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard, took a stand against paparazzi photos of children with the #NoKidsPolicy. They asked the media to refrain from using paparazzi photographs when celebrities’ kids were out publicly but not at events, and encouraged fans to avoid outlets that used such photos. Bell and Shepard pleaded for the privacy of their daughter, who did not wish to became famous, but was assumed to be fair game simply because of who her parents are. Bell and Shepard, however, argued for consent.
This is a very similar situation. The photos of Wyatt were shared with Kutcher and Kunis’ family and friends, and were not meant for public consumption. Her parents’ fame does not give the media a free pass. But HollywoodLife, as the outlet has shown time and again, only cares about traffic. Accuracy be damned. Ethics be damned. And the Daily Mail, RadarOnline, Daily Star, Life & Style, New York Daily News, and a few other places saw fit to disregard those things, too, and publish the personal photos anyway. One outlet doesn’t make it okay. And multiple outlets don’t either. It’s a shame.
(HollywoodLife)
(HollywoodLife)
