Kate Middleton and Prince William aren’t the only ones fuming over the publication of the Duchess’ topless photos taken from a recent vacation in France — the journalism world is in an uproar too.
London dailies have all placed Middleton’s nude photo scandal front and center on their covers, slamming French magazine Closer for releasing compromising snapshots the 30-year-old sunbathing topless at a private residence in the Provence, France earlier this month.
Many echo Clarence House’s official statement that the “unthinkable” act of publishing the topless photos is similar to the appalling way the late Princess Diana was treated by the paparazzi.
“Grotesque!” one publication printed on the cover, quoting the royal’s official statement.
Likewise, Hollywood is also outraged at Closer’s invasion of the duchess’ privacy.
“As a photographer you have to make decisions, in this particular incident, I would have left them alone,” Jeff Rayner, who owns the news agency Coleman Rayner which sells images to publications across the globe, told Celebuzz‘s The Daily Buzz Friday.
“There will be a lot of people who will not run these photos, nor have interest in them. That makes them pretty invaluable.”
He continued, “With this particular magazine, we do not know if it was a freelancer, or an actual staff photographer.”
“At the same time, if it was a freelancer trying to tout them around, there would be very little interest in people actually wanting to bid on these things. There will be very few people who will be interested in using these.”
As Celebuzz previously reported, a spokesman for the royal couple said legal proceedings had commenced in France.
“Their Royal Highnesses have been hugely saddened to learn that a French publication and a photographer have invaded their privacy in such a grotesque and totally unjustifiable manner,” the spokesperson said. “The incident is reminiscent of the worst excesses of the press and paparazzi during the life of Diana, Princess of Wales, and all the more upsetting to The Duke and Duchess for being so.”
“Their Royal Highnesses had every expectation of privacy in the remote house,” the rep continued. “It is unthinkable that anyone should take such photographs, let alone publish them.”
Closer‘s editor-in-chief Laurence Pieau has defended her decision to publish the what she thought was a “beautiful series” of photos that showed a couple in love.
“There’s been an over-reaction to these photos. What we see is a young couple, who just got married, who are very much in love, who are splendid,” Pieau said of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s intimate snapshots.
“She’s a real 21st century princess,” she added: “It’s a young woman who is topless, the same as you can see on any beach in France or around the world.”
See her full response below.
