How do celebrities maintain their privacy?

Whilst there are many upsides to fame, one of the biggest downsides is that it becomes much harder to maintain your privacy once you become famous.

A big part of maintaining your privacy, as a celebrity, sports star, music icon, diplomat or another leading figure, is to be consistent. Becoming famous can often be thrust upon people and it’s important to manage the reality of that situation. Being in the spotlight means you are going to get the media exposure that comes with that so it’s important to monitor your ‘fame’ and make adjustments to the way you are likely to go about your day to day business.

Here at The Chivalry Group, we work with celebrities, diplomats, sports stars and musicians and a big part of the work we do with them is protection work and keeping them safe. Part of that work can involve maintaining their privacy, especially when they are travelling overseas and are away from their home environment and we work on the ground to liaise with the media, manage fan interaction, as well as carrying out electronic debugging of hotels and locations while also dealing with local law enforcement where appropriate.s

Our VIP Protection services extend beyond the protection of celebrities and other famous dignitaries. We are a full-service agency that can take care of every aspect of keeping a client both safe and secure, but also maintaining privacy. Beyond working with a security company, there are, of course, things that celebrities do in order to maintain their privacy. These can include:

Having a plan

Planning is a crucial part of maintaining your privacy as a celebrity or person in the spotlight. It’s important to understand the exposure you are likely to have to deal with when carrying out your day to day activities from work-related commitments such as rehearsals and training, to special one-off public events or going to the supermarket. You need to have a plan for getting to and from venues and how that may be impacted by media and fans as well as your arrival and departure from all destinations.

Be consistent

It is important when you find yourself thrust into the spotlight to be consistent at all times, especially with the media and fans. If the media knows in advance what to expect from a celebrity, sports star, musician or diplomat, it’s much easier to manage expectations for both parties. The media will, more often than not, focus on celebrities who are inconsistent and bringing attention to themselves through their behaviour in public.

The same theory can be applied when dealing with fans. Some celebrities are known for stopping to chat with fans, sign autographs and pose for photos whereas other celebrities prefer to avoid the limelight where possible. As long as you are consistent and courteous at all times, then fans will typically give you more space and respect your desire for privacy.

Avoid the spotlight

Related to consistency is your behaviour when out in public. There are lots of celebrities that manage to successfully avoid the media spotlight and that’s typically down to the way they behave in public and when in front of the media. Courtesy towards the media will typically mean they give you more respect when it comes to your privacy and the privacy of your family. Those celebrities that seek the limelight and crave attention tend to be the ones who enjoy the least amount of privacy and this is often a result of the way they behave in public.

Be careful online

Of course, it’s not just out on the public or in front of the media where celebrity’s private lives are exposed. The proliferation of social media has meant that many celebrities find themselves under constant scrutiny, no matter the time of day. Every single thing they post in the public domain is scrutinised by the media and fans alike and social media accounts are a potential threat to privacy.

Copycat accounts and hacked accounts are one of the biggest threats both to privacy but also to a celebrity’s reputation. One hacked Tweet or Instagram post can have a seriously harmful impact on a celebrity so it’s important to practice vigilance online and understand that celebrity accounts are much more likely to be a target for cybercriminals than Joe public.

Many celebrities also have someone else run their social media for them so the parameters set for that person or persons is critical.

Another aspect of celebrity privacy that has now become more of a threat is the public sharing of personal information online.

One of the best ways to keep your information private is to not give it out. It’s common for celebrities to have a set of contact information that is filtered by assistants, agents, and managers. This helps to put a layer of privacy between them and people trying to find out where they live, such as paparazzi or overly dedicated fans. It also decreases the likelihood of harmful gossip and other online reputation management problems, and it can keep you physically safe from strangers who might seek you out in person.

This information is relevant for everyone – the less information you put into the public domain, the less risk you take when it comes to getting hacked. Limit the information you share on your social media accounts such as address, date of birth and phone number as these can all be used as a way of stealing your identity which can lead to big problems down the line.

Summary

Celebrities deal with fame in many different ways. Some like to remain totally private whereas others are happy for details of their private lives to be shared in the media. At some point, however, there is always a situation or time in your life where privacy is important. A wedding, the birth of a child or simply the need to take some time out of the spotlight. Following the advice above can help you to maintain your privacy as well as helping to keep you safe. It only forms part of what can be a comprehensive risk management plan but some of these fundamentals remain the core of the process.

Of course, there will be other times where celebrities and public figures need help in order to maintain their privacy, especially when travelling overseas. At the Chivalry Group, we have been helping to protect the privacy and ensure the security of travelling celebrities and dignitaries for a number of years, in New Zealand and Australia, but also overseas as well. Talk to one of the team today about our VIP protection services and find out how we can help high profile identities to maintain their privacy, no matter where they are in the world.

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