Princess Diana has been named by Justin Bieber in a tweet about an a fender-bender he experienced after a run-in with paparazzi on Tuesday, just a few days before the 17th anniversary of her death.
Bieber was reportedly rear-ended in West Hollywood yesterday after he noticed a photographer following his Ferarri and slammed on the brakes in annoyance. The singer wasn’t injured–although it’s unclear what amount of damage might have been done to either car–but he took to Twitter to vent his frustration about the incident, saying that laws should be put in place to ensure the safety of everyone on the road when it comes to paparazzi.
Diana was killed in a horrific car crash in a tunnel in Paris, and while the details of the incident have been examined at length by many, the exact cause of the accident is still hotly debated. It was officially deemed an accident caused by the driver’s inebriation, but pursuing paparazzi are believed to have been a factor as well.
There should be laws against what I just experienced. We should have learned from the death of Princess Diana…
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) August 26, 2014
…I don't have a problem with Paparazzi but when they act recklessly they put us all in danger.
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) August 26, 2014
Bieber isn’t the first celebrity to voice a complaint about the dangers of being followed around by photographers; Halle Berry, Jennifer Garner, and Kristen Bell have all backed law proposals that would crack down on photographers harassing them when their children are present.
“We’re moms here who are just trying to protect our children. These are little innocent children who didn’t ask to be celebrities. They didn’t ask to be thrown into this game, and they don’t have the wherewithal to process what’s happening. We don’t have a law in place to protect them from this,” Berry said in a meeting with legislators.
Bieber’s tweet has gone viral today after several news sites picked up the story, with nearly 65,000 retweets.