Blake Lively opened up about the unsettling lengths the paparazzi would go to snap photos of parent celebrities going about their day.
Recalling a recent incident, the Gossip Girl alum questioned the morality of a photographer who "stalked" her and her children to get a snapshot of her while she was going about her day in New York City.
"You edit together these images to look like I'm happily waving, but that is deceitful," wrote Lively on a Daily Mail Australia Instagram post that has since been deleted.
The publication's post was a composite picture of her smiling and waving to the camera partially superimposed over a separate photo of her pushing her three daughters in a stroller.
The actress shared the truth behind the photos from that day in the comments.
"The real story: My children were being stalked by a man all day, jumping out, and then hiding."
"A stranger on the street got into words with them because it was so upsetting for her to see."
"When I tried to calmly approach the photographer you hired to take these pictures in order to speak to him, he would run away — and jump out again at the next block."
@commentsbycelebs/Instagram
@commentsbycelebs/Instagram
Lively continued with serious concerns for the outlet.
"Do you do background checks on the photographers you pay to stalk children? Where is your morality here? I would like to know. Or do you simply not care about the safety of children?"
She said she eventually reached a compromise with the photographer to take a photo under one condition.
"I was able to agree to smile and wave and let them take my picture away from my children if they would leave my children alone — because it was frightening."
Lively ended by pleading for Daily Mail Australia to "tell the whole story" and to "listen to your followers."
"They too understand this is dark and upsetting, that you pay people to stalk children."
"Please stop paying grown-a** men to hide and hunt children. There are plenty of pictures you could've published without the kids. Please delete."
"C'mon. Get with the times."
@commentsbycelebs/Instagram
@commentsbycelebs/Instagram
@commentsbycelebs/Instagram
The Daily Mail Australia IG page honored her request by deleting the post, but not before her comment was screengrabbed by the Instagram account, Comments by Celebs.
When the actress saw her comment was saved, she thanked Comments by Celebs in the thread for helping to spread her message.
She also suggested ways fans can help prevent the paparazzi from snapping photos of children.
"One simple thing people can do is stop following and block any publications or handles who publish kid's pictures."
"Feel free to report them. Or send a dm sharing why you don't follow them. But it's a simple way of only aligning with publications who have morality. And so many do."
"All are trying to service an audience. So if that audience makes it clear they don't want something — like photos of children obtained by men frightening and stalking them — the publication or account will do what the audience wants."
@commentsbycelebs/Instagram
@commentsbycelebs/Instagram
"It's the only way that so many have already stopped. Because the people demanded it. So thank you to everyone who's made that difference already."
She concluded her message by adding the incident she experienced with the photographer that day was "f'king scary."
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