No one likes the paparazzi. In fact, they probably don’t even like themselves. Unless you’re a complete sociopath, knowing you made a career out of invading people’s personal lives and actively making other people’s lives worse just so you can make a few bucks selling their photos to tabloids has to eat at you. Knowing everyone hates you has to eat at you. Especially if you’re the kind of person to risk other people’s lives chasing Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.
Reuters reports that yesterday, Meghan Markle, her husband Harry and her mother were involved in a dangerous multi-hour chase through New York City while trying to get away from paparazzi photographers. In pursuit of a couple of pictures, the paparazzi reportedly put a number of people’s lives at risk. Because of course they did.
“Last night, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Ms Ragland were involved in a near catastrophic car chase at the hands of a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi,” a spokesperson for the couple said in a statement. “This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD (New York Police Department) officers.”
Details on the chase are still scarce, but come on. This is ridiculous. No photo is worth potentially killing someone even for professional stalkers. Especially when the story is what, that Meghan Markle got into a cab to go home after some awards banquet? This kind of behavior is completely unhinged.
And it’s not like a paparazzi car chase has never led to someone’s death before. Remember Princess Diana? Harry’s mom? Are they really trying to make that happen again? Hopefully, the photographers involved are found and held accountable for their dangerous behavior because this is just ridiculous.
Update: CNN spoke with Chris Sanchez, a member of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s security team, who provided more details on the chase.
“I have never seen, experienced anything like this. What we were dealing with was very chaotic. There were about a dozen vehicles: cars, scooters and bicycles,” Sanchez told CNN. “The public were in jeopardy at several points. It could have been fatal. They were jumping curbs and red lights. At one point they blocked the limousine (carrying the couple) and started taking pictures until we were able to get out.”
Sanchez also added that he “was concerned about the principals (Prince Harry and Meghan) but more about the public because they (the paparazzi) were being so erratic. People were on sidewalks and crossing streets and the (paparazzi) were crossing red lights. We did everything by the letter of law.”
While trying to escape the paparazzi and their cameras, the couple reportedly changed cars “more than once.”
The New York Police Department also corroborated some of the story for CNN, saying it had assisted the couple’s security team and that “there were numerous photographers that made their transport challenging.”
However, Good Morning America reports that police sources have pushed back against the couple’s story, claiming that while there were photographers chasing the convoy on bikes, the NYPD escort only stayed with them for about 20 minutes, and if the chase lasted the full two hours, it was due to the security team’s decision to take an indirect route back to where they were staying. The NYPD is, however, reportedly looking into allegations that several vehicles had their license plates covered and were driving recklessly. GMA did also confirm that the couple changed cars in the driveway of the 19th Precinct.
GMA also reports that Backgrid USA, a “celebrity news agency,” claims four photographers gave it photos and videos of the couple who claim “there were no near-collisions or near-crashes during this incident.” Three were reportedly in cars, and one was on a bike. Instead, they blame the security detail, saying one of the SUVs “was driving in a manner that could be perceived as reckless.”
So the NYPD says it saw some bikes, but Backgrid admits others were in cars. The photographers claim they didn’t act recklessly, and it was the couple’s security detail that was actually reckless. But if the paparazzi were as well-behaved as they claim they were, why did the couple feel the need to leave their car for a cab? We may never know exactly what happened, but it sounds like someone’s lying or at least stretching the truth. Considering all the other things paparazzi have done in the past, we’re inclined to lean toward Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s version of the events, but it’s entirely possible that’s not the case.