LAX worker Ronaldo Owens is demanding $5 million from actress Halle Berry and her actor husband, Olivier Martinez. That is pretty steep even for an alleged assault by Martinez. After Rodney King received only $3.8 million for being beaten by multiple officers with batons. The $5 million assault? Martinez knocked over Owens with a child safety seat.
Berry, 46, and Martinez, 49, were going through the airport with their young children when they were set up on by paparazzi and Owens decided to join the scrum with his own cellphone camera. Martinez is shown taking a sudden left into Owens, knocking him down.
Martinez may have intentionally sought to block Owens or even push him away. The angle shown by a TMZ video suggests an intentional act. However, $5 million?
Owen describes the scene below as Martinez “abruptly turned towards Ronaldo and brutally and intentionally charged at Ronaldo using an empty child’s car seat he held in his hands as a weapon, striking Ronaldo to the ground with the seat and causing Ronaldo humiliation and injury.” It does not appear that there would be any serious injury or humiliation from this fall but Owens describes it as a brutal attack.
While this may constitute a tort of battery, the damages demand is outrageous and telling. For the video, the injury appears de minimus.
Just for comparison, this is what Rodney King went through and received over a million less than what Owens is demanding:
Here is what occurred at the airport:
Source: SM Mirror
And the reason why bodyguards and boyfriends try to form a moving barricade around the celebrity is because aggressive paparazzi won’t let them pass. They form a mob and encircle them, and if the actor or actress is known for their temper, some will constantly call out taunts to try to get a good reaction.
This is not always how it happens, but, boy, when it’s bad it’s like a shark feeding frenzy, kids or no kids.
There are a few very kind paparazzi, but their profession does not reward discretion or kindness.
Bam Bam:
“What I did say was that if celebrities, like Halle Berry, are so disturbed and distraught about having the paparazzi capturing the faces of their children, then it MAY not be such a bad idea for the parents to make a concerted effort to shield those images from the lenses when they are in crowded, public, confined spaces–like airports–where the paparazzi has already been tipped off as to the expected arrival of various celebrities. Of course it’s not healthy to put disguises on children. Who said that it was?”
I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the paparazzi taking pictures of celebrity kids. It can get pretty bad. They crowd all around them and try not to let them pass. If the kid cries, there will be pics with a “tantrum” headline. They take so many flash photographs that the poor kids can’t see where they are going, and they can scream in fright. There are a few paparazzi who have a heart and are very nice to the kids. But the bad apples are complete psychos to get that shot. And it’s not like they tell the parents ahead of time. You never know when they’re going to jump out of the bushes, hover a helicopter, or use a drone. The mom would have to carry a mask in her purse at all times and then frantically put it on while photogs snap all around her. And as you yourself admitted, it’s “not healthy to put disguises on children.” What parents do is put their jacket over their young children, or turn their faces to their chests to try to shield them without going all Michael Jackson.
So we’re back to the paparazzi have ruined it for themselves by being so aggressive it’s like stalking. Celebrities have no expectation of privacy when they are out of public, but that does not mean they should be harassed, either.
Karen S
If you notice, I made no previous mention of having these kids wear masks or hoods EVERY time they venture outside. What I did say was that if celebrities, like Halle Berry, are so disturbed and distraught about having the paparazzi capturing the faces of their children, then it MAY not be such a bad idea for the parents to make a concerted effort to shield those images from the lenses when they are in crowded, public, confined spaces–like airports–where the paparazzi has already been tipped off as to the expected arrival of various celebrities. Of course it’s not healthy to put disguises on children. Who said that it was? Celebrity, however, comes with a price, and the children of those celebrities pay the price, as well. There needs to be some other way to discourage the photographing of these children, other than having a French former boxer physically assault someone who was not blocking or preventing his passage. I mentioned the use of a very temporary disguise, used for minutes, to escape the frenzied photographing. Just an idea–not a suggestion that the kids walk around in Halloween costumes, ala Michael Jackson, every time that they are out in public. After all, if the photos have no value–due to the faces being obscured–perhaps the photogs would have no incentive to take them.
California is a litigious society, and the paparazzi are like an aggressive pack of hyenas hounding celebrities and their children.
I can’t watch the video, but unless Olivier wielded the car seat two handed and beat him like he was Babe Ruth, then this is a frivolous shakedown lawsuit. These people step over themselves to throng famous people, and fall over themselves or trip each other. They cause car accidents chasing celebrities in which people are injured or die. (Princess Diana comes to mind.) Meanwhile, the poor parents are just trying to get their little kids through without their being scared.
I do believe that actors and actresses should treat the public and photographers with respect and patience, because they have based their wealth and careers upon the public liking their work. But in California, at least, the paparazzi have become quite toxic, and I think they need to take a step back.
BamBam: A face mask is venturing into Michael Jackson territory. I don’t think making kids wear masks or hoods every time they go outside would be very good for their psyche, either.
http://www.tmz.com/2012/11/26/gabriel-aubry-olivier-martinez-restraining-order-halle-berry/
This is what happens when one upsets Mr. Martinez. Berry’s ex and male model, Gabriel Aubry, received this beating, allegedly–at the hands of Mr. Martinez–a couple of years ago while he was standing in the driveway of Berry’s home and during an exchange of the former couple’s daughter. Given Mr. Martinez’s background as a boxer, I’d venture to declare the photographer fortunate in that this altercation occurred in a very public place, like an airport, with multiple witnesses. While the lawsuit seems to be for an excessive amount, perhaps this will put a dent in Mr. Martinez’s proclivity for using violence to resolve issues.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2817788/Halle-Berry-s-baby-daddy-Gabriel-Aubry-argues-t-work-husband-beat-wants-support-lowered-12k-month.html
Paparazzi feed the infectious obsession with celebrity that afflicts our society. In that regard, Mr. Owens is a victim of this illness. For his “injury” I’ll award him the equivalent of a McRib Value meal at the airport McDonalds, including one of those little simulated ice cream cones and a box of cookies–or $11.57, whichever is higher. However, if Mr. Owens was on the clock when he started snapping photos, I’d also back his dismissal on the grounds of shirking his duty (idiot was just standing around, starstruck) and behaving with gross unprofessionalism.
The attorney determined the amount, and did it solely for publicity. In California, the rules forbid including an amount claimed for either personal injuries or punitive damages in a Complaint and respectable attorneys follow them.
Halle Berry is notoriously skittish about having her children photographed by the paparazzi–so much so that she attempted to move to France a couple of years ago, claiming that her children would be safer there from intrusive photographers. A family court order, requiring that she remain in the US until her daughter is 18, was the result of a battle between Berry and the father of her oldest child. While I do understand the desire to protect the privacy and identity of her very young children, the fact is that she is traipsing through a very public place–an airport–with her kids. Berry and Martinez, a former boxer, have a combined net worth of $100 million–why not spend $1.00 of it on a simple face mask and put it on the kids when they need to walk through an airport? Their identities are concealed and the problem is solved.
That was a solid body check with the kid seat. Too bad we can’t see a video from behind so we could see if the ‘victim’ was blatantly ignoring the security’s order to ‘back up, back up’. Like Paul said, the kid seat guy did not speed up, he was maintaining his speed when the other man appeared and he checked him off.
Meh. I have no sympathy for paparazzi.
He didn’t pick up his pace or anything. But he did seem to brush him off with the whatever it was he was carrying.
Inflation!
A mid-four figure settlement would be more rational. Millions is rediculous.
If I’m defending Martinez I play up the father protecting his kids. This will never go to trial and will settle for low 6 figures.
Boxer Mike Tyson gives Paparazzi a whooping at airport. Wonder if there was some kind of settlement?
Why not $500 million?
I did not watch the video but if the perp who is the plaintiff was not black then his life does not matter.
Jon,
With all those flashes… The camera man filming this might have been the intended target.
It does make an interesting case… Of inflation.
You know what else is an interesting case? The Rodney King beating video. Here’s why…
Back then this distant shaky video was enough evidence to charge officers yet their acquittal set aflame parts of L.A. and other cities across America. Today, we’re accustomed to seeing police even kill people in close up proximity and be acquitted… We should be thankful that Americans have become numb to such police brutality that parts of America aren’t yet again, set ablaze. Ferguson came close…