CARMEN ELECTRA - ELECTRA PHOTO REQUEST 'NOT UNUSUAL'

ELECTRA PHOTO REQUEST 'NOT UNUSUAL'

Model/actress CARMEN ELECTRA has hit out at paparazzi complaints over the photo restrictions at a recent appearance at New York Fashion Week, insisting her request was "not unusual". Electra, who posed sexily on a metal hoop suspended above the runway for the 2(x)ist fashion show on Tuesday (11Sep07), was criticised by snappers for giving all her photography rights to one picture agency - threatening other unauthorised paparazzi with a $25,000 (GBP12,000) fine if they took her photo. But Electra insists her contract clause was normal practice in the industry. Her spokesperson tells the New York Daily News, "Carmen is known for being very gracious to photographers. "It is not unusual to request approval over photos being shot of a performance, and we requested the (lensmen) who Carmen was most comfortable with. The media was invited backstage to interview and shoot Carmen after the performance." The sole rights for video footage of her performance were signed over to Wire Image while stills were handed to Michael Simon, the brother of Electra's manager, Stephanie Simon. Other snappers were limited to taking pictures of the underwear models who walked in the show.