We've seen this scenario play out time and time again - a celebrity is tired and fatigued, but gets harassed by the paparazzi to the point of breaking them. For Chris Martin, this took place a few times...We'll take a look at his instances of blowing up on the paps, including a certain moment that caused the singer to lose it - while telling the photographers exactly how he felt about giving away his signature.
Coldplay's Chris Martin Gets Aggressive On Camera With Paparazzi
Chris Martin, lead singer of the British band Coldplay, has had enough of the paparazzi. This is evident in a video that surfaced in early 2020 that shows him signing autographs after a charity event at the Palladium in L.A. for a prison reform organization.
In the video, which was also posted to TMZ, Chris Martin can be seen singing autographs for fans before it cuts away to a shot of him yelling and shouting at the paparazzi. It seems as though the paparazzi were shouting at him to try and get his attention for an autograph beforehand, which might have been the reason he appeared to be so angry.
In the video, he can be heard telling the paparazzi, "Either ask nicely, or just be polite... Don't shout at me, like it's so aggressive. Treat humans with decency. I mean, these are all going on eBay, I always sign at least one each."
Coldplay Had Just Performed A Tough Gig, According To Chris Martin
Another reason why he was so ticked off is possibly the fact that he had just performed a bad set. In a video posted on Youtube by user Vloggy Delight, Chris Martin can be seen addressing the audience saying, "Everyone keeps shouting 'Amsterdam', so I've got to do it."
Unfortunately for him, he couldn't remember all the words. He even joked with his bandmate about possibly pulling up the song's Wikipedia onstage to read the lyrics. Towards the middle of the song, he finally gives up and begins a new song, but not before pleading with the audience.
"This is embarrassing, please don't put this on Youtube!" Later on in the video of him berating the paparazzi, he had some not-so-savory things to say about his own performance. "I might have a family, I might had a sh***y gig, which I did have, you know what I'm saying?"
Chris Martin Had Multiple Run-Ins With The Paparazzi
This unfortunately was not the first negative encounter with the paparazzi that Chris Martin has had. Back in 2003, he had an incident with the paparazzi in Australia.
The story goes that he was surfing at Seven Mile Beach near the New South Wales town of Byron Bay when he spotted freelance photographer John Lister snapping shots of him. Chris Martin approached him and demanded the photos be deleted form Lister's digital camera, a request that Lister denied.
Martin then allegedly picked up a rock and began to smash it against Lister's car window. "He just lost it," Lister was quoted saying. "I told him I was entitled to take pictures of him on a public beach, but he wouldn't accept it... He didn't manage to break through the screen, but the window now has to be replaced. I didn't get involved but went straight to the police."
Chris Martin was charged with malicious damage, but the charges were later dropped.
Another incident happened the following year, in 2004. During a night out in the Knightsbridge section of London with his then wife Gwenyth Paltrow, he had a run-in with photographer Alessandro Copetti, who got a little too close for Martin's comfort. So much so, that Martin allegedly kicked him in the back onto the ground outside of a restaurant.
According to People Magazine, a spokesperson for Martin explained that he was only trying to protect Paltrow, who was pregnant with their first child at the time.
“Chris’s sole concern was to ensure that Gwyneth got into the cab safely and was not impeded or harassed in any way," they said. At first he denied the attack ever happened, but as the police investigated further into the incident, he eventually admitted his wrongdoings and was later cautioned by police for "common assault".
Then again in 2015, he was accused to hitting a photographer with his car outside of a restaurant in Santa Monica, California... but the internet cried foul when more details about the incident emerged.
It seems like these days the paparazzi are lucky to get away with a little berating, as Chris Martin has toned down his angst quite a bit. Let's hope that this is the final time he has any sort of problems with them.
