MINNIE DRIVER - DRIVER THANKS MALIBU SURFERS WHO BEAT UP THE PAPARAZZI

DRIVER THANKS MALIBU SURFERS WHO BEAT UP THE PAPARAZZI

Pregnant MINNIE DRIVER has applauded the angry surfers who came to her rescue when a quiet day at the beach turned into a paparazzi invasion last month (Jun08).
Driver, actor pal Colin Farrell and his young son were relaxing at Paradise Cove in Malibu, California when an army of photographers targeted them for pictures.
Farrell himself challenged one group of snappers but when he was outnumbered, local surfers stepped in to let the cameramen know they weren't welcome.
A brawl broke out between snappers and surfers, with some paparazzi forced to defend themselves from beatings as they were dragged into the sea with their expensive equipment.
Driver says, "We were chased off the beach by these paparazzi and then my local community and my lovely friends and neighbours took serious umbrage at the fact that their community had been so disrupted by these people, who were just total piranhas.
"Whilst I don't condone the violence at all, I think they (surfers) were just defending people trying to have a normal afternoon.
"Colin has a little son and I'm pregnant, so it was just sort of disgusting and wrong. It wasn't a happy experience of taking lovely pictures; it was rabid and weird.
"The Malibu community was defending us, which was really nice. It didn't stop the guy from selling his pictures for $80,000, but, hey, maybe a punch in the mouth was worth it for him."
And Driver is happy the incident has prompted local officials to boost the police presence on the beaches, so celebrities can sunbathe in peace: "Now we have sheriffs patrolling our beach, which I kind of love."