Should celebrities expect to be able to lead a normal private life? This thorny topic and other related issues were hotly debated by a panel of experts at the fifth YN Lawyers Reception, which raised an incredible £23,000 for Norwood. Over 200 young lawyers attended last night's fundraising and networking event at the City offices of Goldman Sachs.
The highlight of the evening featured top legal eagles Amber Melville-Brown of Withers LLP, William McCormick QC, Mark Moody, Social Editor of OK! Magazine, and Lorraine Tighe, a contestant from the fifth series of The Apprentice. The panel was chaired by well-known legal commentator and journalist Joshua Rozenberg.
The evening, which also included a drinks and canapés reception, provided a great opportunity for YN supporters to network while raising vital funds for Norwood, which supports people with learning disabilities and children and families in need.
During the discussion, the panel covered a range of topics, including tabloid entrapment, how celebrities can protect themselves when false stories about them emerge in newspapers, and the rules which dictate the type of pictures the media are allowed to publish.
Lorraine Tighe, who insisted that she didn’t classify herself as a celebrity in any shape or form, spoke openly and with great humility about the problems she faced following her appearance in The Apprentice. “It’s been a horrific year for me, the newspapers went to town and I was front page gossip in the tabloids,” she said. “I was exposed to some pretty nasty stories for the whole world to see and would urge people to think long and hard before going on a reality TV show.”
Amber Melville-Brown, who specialises in defamation, privacy and reputation management, said the topic of celebrity privacy was regularly discussed among her journalist friends, and explained the differences between the injunctions required to stop media organisations publishing a photo, and those needed to prevent a story being published. Meanwhile, William McCormick QC spoke in defence of the newspapers, but said: “Newspapers have a legal obligation to let celebrities know if they are going to be the subject of a story, although sometimes they tactically keep quiet.” Mark Moody gave his views on celebrity entrapment and how celebrities like Lorraine find it extremely hard to fight back when a false story is published by tabloid titans. Audience members also had the opportunity to quiz panellists and delve deeper into the world of celebrity litigation and defamation as they grappled with the dichotomy of “what is of interest to the public is not the same as what is in the public interest.”
Daniel Sandford, YN Fundraiser, said: “The evening has been a great success, worthy of any news exclusive! and I would like to thank our special guests, Amber Melville-Brown, William McCormick QC, Lorraine Tighe and Mark Moody for providing such a thought provoking discussion. A special thanks is also due to our moderator Joshua Rozenberg, for expertly leading the panel through the legal maze of celebrity privacy. I would also like to thank the YN Lawyers Committee for helping to make the event such a great success, our sponsors Latham and Watkins, Withers LLP, our media sponsors the Jewish Chronicle and all our guests for their generous support. ”
