Vogue: Remember George Clooney's Fiery Speech On Princess Diana's Death

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Remembering George Clooney’s Fiery Speech After Princess Diana’s Death

AUGUST 11, 2017 4:47 PM

by ELISE TAYLOR

Photo: Getty Images.

Last month, George Clooney blasted the press for publishing pictures of hisnewborn twins, Ella and Alexander. The photographs, he said, were an incredible invasion of privacy: the paparazzi scaled a fence, climbed a tree, and “illegally took pictures” inside his home. “Make no mistake: The photographers, the agency, and the magazine will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. The safety of our children demands it,” a statement by the actor read.

It’s far from the first time Clooney has clashed with the press. In 2014, he foughtto keep the paparazzi away from his wedding to Amal, and in 2011, he went onPiers Morgan Tonight to defend Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt for selling photos of their children in order to avoid the paparazzi. But his first major battle? That goes way back to 1997—when the young actor, then on the cusp of global superstardom, made a fiery speech after Princess Diana’s death.

He’d never met her, but thought they were kindred spirits. Thanks to roles in ERand Batman & Robin, Clooney was internationally known. He, like Princess Di, felt hounded by the paparazzi, and he too had high-speed chases while trying to throw tabloid tails. So when the princess died seemingly at their hands (later, reports revealed that the driver was also intoxicated), he had enough.

The Internet footprint of this two-decade old event is small: Film archiving wasn’t what it is today and the 24/7 online news cycle didn’t exist. But through archives of television transcriptions, Clooney’s impassioned speech is preserved.

“Princess Di is dead, and who should we see about that? The driver of the car? The paparazzi? Or the magazines and papers who purchased these pictures and make bounty hunters out of photographers?” he said to a group of reporters at the Screen Actors Guild office in Los Angeles. “If you weren’t hiding behind the profession of journalism, you would be an accomplice to a crime, and you would go to jail.”

He specifically blasted Steve Coz, then the editor of the National Enquirer and de facto kingpin of the American tabloid market. “What ethics! Your cover of your magazine this week says, ‘Di Can‘t Get Enough Sex.’ It’s on the stands still. I also watch as you take your position on CNN, saying as long as there is a market for this, that you are just supplying the goods.”

Did Clooney’s speech make any tangible change? Sadly, it’s doubtful. Even he couldn’t have stopped the rise of a gossip industry based on social media and smartphones. But it seems he will never stop trying—for himself, for his family, and for Princess Diana.

In This Story:PRINCESS DIANA, ROYALS