Lorde Tweets Name, Photo of Her 'Stalker'

Says she's 'scared' of Simon Runting
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted May 5, 2014 10:40 AM CDT
Lorde Tweets Name, Photo of Her 'Stalker'
New Zealand's singer-songwriter Lorde answers questions from the press ahead of her performance in Mexico City, Mexico, Wednesday, April 9, 2014.   (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Seventeen-year-old musical phenom Lorde, not one to suffer fools, says a male paparazzo is stalking her. Among her tweets from last night, most accompanied by Simon Runting's photo and, in one case, a link to his Facebook page:

  • "this man has been stalking me, photographing me and refusing me privacy. i am scared of him. ... his name is simon runting,"
  • "this should not be an accepted standard for young women or anyone in this industry."
  • "i refuse to stay complicit and i refuse to stay passive about men systematically subjecting me to extreme fear."
  • "i understand that this comes with the territory. i do not understand why I should be complacent."

Gawker describes Runting as "a New Zealand photographer who appears to focus primarily on celebrities" and points out that a photo he took last year of Rihanna led her to quote a Kanye West song about hating the paparazzi "more than the Nazi." (More Lorde stories.)

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