Back when then Twilight movie was first cast we used to cover various shots of the stars when they weren’t working, things like them going for coffee, out on the town, greeting fans, etc. After awhile we stopped and got really picky about what photos we ran because we realized a couple of things 1) you can only see a star going for coffee so many times and you realize there’s not a story there, 2) even though one shot may seem fine you have no idea if they were hounded before or after that shot, 3) it’s not just the matter of pictures or aggressive in your face pictures, it’s often the matter of having vile things said to the star to provoke a reaction. Questions like so “Have you stopped beating your wife yet?  Does you daughter do Ecstasy naked in the hot tub with you?” Things that there are no answer to and are aimed at provocation so that then can then write a story with a reaction photo that talks about what a jerk the star was not wanting to talk about their day. 4) The same guy who was taking legit behind a barrier  “actors working photos” up in Vancouver was the next day tweeting out Stephenie Meyer’s flight info when she wouldn’t give him the time of day, and he has a pattern of this type of behavior.

Some people think, well you’re famous, can’t you put up with a few photos? In our opinion, it’s not just the matter of people putting up with a few photos it’s a constant invasive hounding. It’s never being able to have a single private moment without your every word and action being warped for a sensationalistic media site’s economic gain. Anyway, we knew we’d never stop it from happening, but for us we just didn’t want to add any more into the laws of supply and demand, so we stopped covering things that made us uncomfortable. We’ll still cover fan encounters that don’t seem stalkerish (ie You bumped into a star on the street rather than you camped out on their kids school.), stars working if photos were taken behind barriers at a premiere or at a publicly visible movie shoot, but after that we decided it was just too hard to tell the manner in which photos were obtained.

Robert Pattinson had an episode of exactly what we are describing above. At first they were just photos of him out on the town in Malibu, then it was a constant stalking with a fabricated car accident. The grand irony is in the middle of the chaos, Rob actually signed some autographs for some teens who stumbled in the situation, so it’s not as if he isn’t appreciative of his fans. Every time a celebrity who is C-list at best comments on stars being divas for not being able to take the attention, they ought to walk in Rob’s shoes for a month and see how much they appreciate it.

Both E! and Gossip Cop have covered the story.

The E! version:

“Did Team Edward have a run-in with an age-old enemy?

Robert Pattinson is trying to shoot down reports that he slammed into a dude’s car in Malibu and then sped off without as much as exchanging insurance information.

Instead, the sparkly Twilight star is blaming his bad press on a pack of werewolves shutterbugs.

“Robert was pulling out of a parking space after a quiet day in Malibu and was relentlessly pursued by paparazzi,” his rep tells E! News. “He has no knowledge of having bumped or damaged another car in the process. The story has been manufactured for headlines.”

Gossip Cop version:

“The problem is: The media often portray events as they didn’t happen, in order to fit the narrative their readers been instructed to follow.

Robert Pattinson — like hundreds of other famous people — is hounded relentlessly by paparazzi. Surprisingly, just like everyone else, he doesn’t care for it.

Some celebs have handled their frustration with violence.

Others scream and carry on.

It’s not the best route to go, and it surrenders some of the moral high ground to the predatory photographers.

X17Online.com is pretending that Robert Pattinson made similar mistakes when pestered by paparazzi over the weekend. He supposedly “yells” at a photog after committing a “hit & run.” He got “pissy,” sneers the site.

It’s a total misrepresentation.

There’s no hitting and running. There’s no yelling. There’s no prima donna hissy fit. He barely even raises his voice.

Pattinson looks frustrated and exhausted, and he repeatedly — politely — asks the paps not to follow him. The outlet even provides video of the incident, and it shows Pattinson being completely civil.

You can even hear a photographer praising Pattinson as “such a nice guy.”

X17 asks viewers to ignore what they see in favor of a more dramatic, sensational confrontation. Consider that Pattinson is literally forced to pull off the California Pacific Highway to ask for some privacy and to ask nearby police officers (presumably) whether they can help. When the harassment begins, it’s still light outside. By the end, it’s dark. It’s ridiculous.

Yet X17 wants the takeaway message to be: If Pattinson can’t handle harassment, he shouldn’t be a celebrity. And if he does handle himself like a gentleman, just misrepresent events to make it look like he didn’t.

Shameful.”