How Celebrity Clients Deal With Press Hordes at the Courthouse
Celebrities who have to appear in court have tried a variety of ways to escape the press, including disguises and diving beneath a truck.
The New York Times spoke with a number of lawyers for celebrities who recounted how their clients coped. The best-orchestrated exits involve court officers or bodyguards who escort the client to a waiting SUV. The windows should be tinted because “it gives you the allure of being someone who needs a blacked-out, tinted SUV,” lawyer Joseph Tacopina told the newspaper.
Sticky Fingaz had his driver impersonate him by wearing a fedora, sunglasses and walking with his lawyer into the main entrance. The rapper went unnoticed as he went through another entrance. Gun possession charges against the celebrity were later dropped.
Courtney Love, on the other hand, appeared to enjoy the media attention. She “latched on to her lawyer,” the Times says, gushed about how handsome he was and suggested to reporters that she was pregnant with his child.
The most unusual celebrity exit may have been during Rip Torn’s lunchtime exit from the courthouse, the story says. Torn, who was later acquitted on a charge of drunken driving, ran from reporters and jumped under an 18-wheel truck. Torn later said he was in a hurry to meet a friend for lunch.
