Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are taking legal action against the paparazzi over illegal images taken of their son in the backyard of their Los Angeles home.
The former royals are suing because of “serial intrusions on the privacy of a 14-month-old child in his own home, and the desire and responsibility of any parent to do what is necessary to protect their children from this manufactured feeding frenzy,” according to a complaint filed Thursday in L.A. County Superior Court by celeb lawyer Michael Kump, per The Hollywood Reporter.
The violation occurred at Tyler Perry’s Beverly Hills estate, which is nestled inside a gated community, where the couple is living until they find a permanent home.
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According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, a photog snapped pics of baby Archie on the property and is shopping them as if they were shot during an outing in Malibu, the report states. But the Duke and Duchess of Sussex make clear that they have not taken their child out anywhere in public, most especially to Malibu.
They say the photog has intentionally lied about the location and mislabeled the images of Archie because “unsolicited photographs of a young child in the privacy of his own home are very much unlawful.”
In the lawsuit, Harry and Meghan note that “some media outlets have flown drones a mere 20 feet above the house,” in hopes of capturing a money shot of Archie and his parents.
“Some paparazzi and media outlets have flown drones a mere 20 feet above the house, as often as three times a day, to obtain photographs of the couple and their young son in their private residence,” writes Kump in the complaint. “Others have flown helicopters above the backyard of the residence, as early as 5:30 a.m. and as late as 7:00 p.m., waking neighbors and their son, day after day. And still others have even cut holes in the security fence itself to peer through it.”
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Harry and Meghan reportedly don’t know who snapped the pics or who is trying to sell them, so they are putting the entire industry on notice that the images were taken illegally,
Their invasion of privacy lawsuit is targeting John Doe defendants in hopes of identifying of the photog(s) responsible for the intrusion and also to put potential buyers on notice.
“The Plaintiffs have done everything in their power to stay out of the limelight except in connection with their work, which they freely admit is newsworthy,” writes Kump. “But the photos at issue are not news. They are not public interest. They are harassment. The sole point to taking and/or selling such invasive photos is to profit from a child.”
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