I Empathize with the Photographer That Denzel Washington Yelled At

After a photographer provoked the ire of Denzel Washington on the Cannes Red Carpet, many criticized the photographer. But the truth is that kind of environment is a cutthroat, dog-eat-dog world and because I have experienced it, I understand the photographer’s perspective.

I covered plenty of celebrity events back when I was a budding news photographer in the UK. When I first started, I was shocked by the behavior of some photographers.

My first-ever experience of it was at a Dancing With the Stars press event and my naive self was shocked when a photographer began aggressively shouting the names of the celebrities. I later realized that it was so the celebrity’s eyes lock on the lens of the shouter. Maybe that’s why my shots weren’t as good.

But the point is it’s a proven tactic and the photographer touching Denzel on the Red Carpet this week was likely trying to get the actor to lock eyes with him. It certainly worked but not in the way he hoped.

The worst was yet to come for me and my celebrity photographer career. One time, while covering a pop concert that featured numerous artists of the day, I was physically assaulted by one of my older peers.

Standing in a tight space, a small pack of snappers were waiting for the singers to arrive at a pre-arranged spot so we could get a photo of them before they went on stage. Just as one of the stars arrived, I was pushed, basically attacked, by a much older guy who was there for the UK’s biggest news agency.

I reacted badly and confronted him. He weakly apologized but I missed the shot and I couldn’t believe how ruthless he had been. Lesson learned.

But bad behavior among the press happens all the time. Last year, a press photographer in London apologized to Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham after he asked her to show leg as she posed for pictures at an event.

I suspect photographers in Britain and Europe behave worse than their US counterparts, but that’s for a different article.

These are just two of my bad experiences at celebrity events but I had better ones, too. There were instances where some photographers went out of their way to help me, give advice, and share contacts. I became friends with some of them.

It occurs to me now that I may have been targeted because of my age. Some of the old timers didn’t like seeing a young buck on the scene. I remember someone complained about me once, alleging I was too young to be at one particular event. “Get a life,” I remember thinking.

All this is to say that while the photographer’s behavior at Cannes yesterday comes off as abhorrent to the wider public, it’s simply the daily reality for working press photographers. I never covered an event quite as prestigious as Cannes Film Festival but I imagine the jostling and paranoia between picture agencies and photographers are the same at the very top as it further down the bottom, if not considerably amplified.

All I am saying is please don’t judge him too harshly; he’s just trying to get the best shot. Never forget that the relationship between celebrities and photographers goes both ways, something that the public tends to miss.