As far as whiners go, I actually put George Clooney pretty far down the list, well below some of the other tabloid regulars who love to play the victim of the paparazzi and tabloid media. But to Christian Bale, Clooney is, like, the standard-bearer for whining about the paps. What the what, man? Bale has an interview in the new issue of the Wall Street Journal Magazine and he talks about his philosophy for dealing with the paparazzi, and he throws significant shade on Clooney for some reason:
Christian Bale has blasted former “Batman” George Clooney for “whining” about being hounded by paparazzi.
In a WSJ. Magazine cover story, Bale calls Clooney’s complaints “boring,” adding, “It doesn’t matter that he talks about it. It’s like, ‘Come on, guys, just shut up. Just get on with it and live your lives and stop whining about it.’ I prefer not to whine about it.”
Bale — who manages to keep his personal life with wife Sibi Blazic out of the spotlight — has a reputation for being hot-headed, but avoids confrontations with photographers.
“I was in Italy with my wife,” he recalls in the Q&A with Andrew Goldman.
“I would go to work; she would leave the hotel. There would be a man who stood outside . . . and say the most obscene things imaginable to my wife . . . I know what he’s after; he has a strategy there. Am I able to say I’m not gonna give him that satisfaction of angry Christian Bale coming after this man? But equally, he’s killing my humanity and my dignity as a husband if I do not, and he knows this. So you’ve got a choice.”
Yeah… I’m still mystified? Bale has a reputation as an angry, intense guy, so obviously some photographers try to get him to lose his temper, because they can sell those photos for big money. George Clooney does not have a reputation as an angry, intense guy and as we could see during his Italian wedding extravaganza, George has a cozy relationship with the mainstream and tabloid press. Granted, George has whined about the paparazzi years and years ago – like right after Princess Diana died and George made that big fuss. But it’s been decades, hasn’t it? Hm. Update: CB reminded me of this story, where Clooney sued some photographers and magazines for using telephoto lens to photograph people inside his Lake Como home. See, to me that’s a legitimate complaint, not whining. And if a celebrity actually sues, that’s not whining either.
You know who would have made an even better target for Bale? Alec Baldwin. Baldwin is always complaining and throwing (violent) hissy fits, but he’s married to a total (golddigging) famewhore.
PS… I really hope Bale and Clooney get into some immature tit-for-tat in the press about this. Boyfight!
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
Bale bitched about paps while bitching about celebs who bitch about paps. Nicely done. It’s so meta.
I was just going to say this.
I love Bale the actor but I almost never enjoy his interviews for reasons like this.
I know. He’s a very good actor but his personality often makes me cringe. And I’m sorry, Clooney will always seems affable and cooperative compared to Bale.
Bale is right, George practically became a Kardashian with his press promotion.
Kiddo, excellent comment! You nailed it. It’s what I was thinking without being able to put it in words. Re: Bale, why doesn’t he have that growth next to eye removed? It really detracts from his looks, although I never thought he was that good looking anyway. He looks like Charles Manson here.
I thought he was complaining about the paps coming after his wife (who is a “civilian”? I guess?) rather than only himself. George Clooney, by contrast, isn’t a civilian AND invited the world to his wedding (why???).
By the way, why would a pap say obscene things to Christian Bale’s wife, who isn’t famous? Like, what’s the point of that? That IS weird. (Not that I think a famous person deserves to have strange things said to them either, but going after someone’s non-famous wife does strike me as pretty bizarre on the hierarchy of bizarre things).
Bale whined about whining.
Clooney 10+ Bale 0
Clooney is a big hypocrite and I’m glad Bale called him on it.
Clooney had a circus wedding, worlds press informed, leaked, details sent in press releases months,weeks before so newspapers and tabs would write about it and have the info.
George became a Kardashian this summer to promote himself, his International human rights lawyer on HIS level and that wedding for whatever reason.
Celebrities bitching about virtually anything is annoying. When the good sides of your job outweigh the bad by suchba huge margin, unless something is dangerous or degrading, just don’t complain.
I completely agree.
Yes X100!!
That is the one thing that does bother me about paps. They want a picture by any means necessary. They will say anything and drive recklessly.
Well here’s a solution: all the celebs confronted by paps should always be angry and over the top. Eventually this will be so commonplace that the price of pics will be driven down. Conversely, the paps will have to say or do nice things to get them to smile.
Clooney usually can’t resist a beef.
Amy Adams is another one who is always whining about it too… I swear everytime she does one of those actors roundtables, she makes it about paparazzi. Girl, bye.
Ugh, Amy Adams.
It’s never wise to poke the bear. I’m sure Clooney will respond in some fashion, even if it’s indirectly. The guy takes the paparazzi thing very seriously and will not like someone saying that his complaints are “whining.” This is the same man who held a press conference after Princess Di’s death to make a statement against the paps.
I would give my Hello Kitty collection for a knock down, drag em out, hair pulling celebrity BOYFIGHT!!
Please respond King George. My gossipy scandal addiction has not been appeased this year.
George…Christian…you have 31 days to make my dream come true. I wont be offended if some clothes accidently get pulled off and/or torn.
I think George’s wife already owns an entire hello kitty collection. Sweeten the pot. Dueling ceramic cockatoos? Batman to Batman hand to hand combat, Aaron Burr gun duel at sunrise?
Offer them fish heads and potatoes!
Amal also has $8000 real Python skin jacket (Python skin obtained from Indonesia and Vietnam) she wore to LA Thanksgiving dinner with Gerbers to throw in to start a fight betn GC and Bale too, never mind Hello Kitty collection!
Maybe I’ll make potato salad. Tater salad always starts boyfights right? Or am I thinking of beer?
Beer flavored potato salad it is!
The cockatoos are mine. Leave them out of this.
This makes me MORE in love with Christian–the thing he said about his wife and the paparazzi. It’s a hard thing. Because we wouldn’t have heard the whole story, if he had went after that pap who was harassing his wife, we would’ve gotten more stories about ‘angry Christian Bale’….and not have known. And some people don’t care–once they write a narrative, it’s set in stone.
But I like what he said, because he’s always seemed so into her, and so protective over her. I remember when he got into that hotel fight with his mother/sister, I read rumors that his mother/sister had insulted his wife, and that’s what started the whole thing. I like that he backs her up.
They are one of my favorite HW couples–they are so cute together.
What happened to his mother is that a week before she would have been rude on the phone with Bale’s ( I read in the book of his former publicist). When they met, Bale complained about it. She also wanted him to give money to the boyfriend of his sister, an investment that he wanted to do. I think Sibi was against, then his mother started swearing at her. It seems that Bale never liked the boyfriend of his sister, who has / had problems with drugs and a number of other things.
Anyway, his mother does not seem to be good. She made a deal with an English tabloid with paparazzi to try to talk to Bale in London for TDKR, that is, she wanted to make money from a possible new scandal.
Where did you get all of that info? lol
Ahh, thanks for the info! I just read some hearsay…. What’s the name of the book?
And yes, his mother is horrible. She gives interviews a few times a year about what happened. The last one I read was when he was nominated for his Oscar for American Hustle, and she was all confused about WHY he wouldn’t talk to her, or have any contact. She’s a horrible person/mother.
But I LOVE that he backs up his woman. I think he’s a little curmudgeonly and a little ‘weird’ in interviews, but I love him nonetheless. Same thing like with Tommy Lee Jones.
See, and HERE’s the bit about not whining to the press that Bale is trying to make.
I’ve read that, er, book. I wouldn’t go as far as to call it that, but okay. That ‘publicist’ claims there that he moved in with the Bales at some vague point not long after Little Women. He bases most of his credibility for the bullshit he writes there in that: look at how intimately I know this family, I’ve lived with them for years, what I’m saying here is the truth, I’m a true insider, blah blah blah.
The problem is that the internet never forgets and that Google *definitely* don’t believe in letting the internet forget and that Google bought a LOT of old mailing list servers. What I’m saying here is that there are still messages on old Christian Bale mailing lists available on the internet to this day that prove that the guy moved to LA in 1999 and never lived with the Bales in their house and was never particularly close to Bale to begin with.
The guy was fired/pushed to quit at some point in 2002, early 2003 at most. This incident took place in 2008. He has no idea what happened there, any more than any other gossip outlet or anyone else except for the people who were in the room and whoever they chose to tell.
And that’s Bale’s point about this, one that is partially lost because Kaiser chose to quote Page Six instead of the full WSJ Magazine piece that’s already online. (PS Kaiser, for your question why not Baldwin? Because the interviewer brought this up and specifically named Clooney, not Bale). It would have been incredibly easy to disprove this scumbag’s entire story. But that would require engaging. Bale refuses to engage with the media about his bad publicity, whether the bad publicity is true or false. That’s the ‘whining’ in question he refers to. You can agree or disagree – Bale’s certainly stuck in a circle of perpetual bad press because he’s actively refusing to take the steps required to change it, and plenty of other actors aren’t in a position where they can afford to put themselves above this game with the media and still get the roles they want (see: anyone who isn’t a white man). But he does put his money where his mouth is, even when it comes with a price tag.
He may be a bastard sometimes, but I love Christian Bale, and he’s far more interesting as an actor too.
Good for Christian ,glad he called George out.
Eh, he uses the general “c’mon guys”. It sounds more like Clooney was suggested as an example. This strikes me as a set up on the part of the interviewer (a good set up, but still a set up). Substitute anyone who has complained about the paparazzi and it would be the same answer. I doubt Bale gives a damn about Clooney and vice versa.
He makes a good point. Don’t give the paparazzi what they want. Sean Penn walks into the trap constantly and Jonah Hill did it recently.
Same idea.
If this interview was done just a few weeks ago, it was within the engagement-wedding production cycle. And, GC had a little letter writing thing with the DM during the summer.
I can see that GC would be an example, especially if this interview is a few weeks old.
That’s how I took it too, though at the same time by telling the story, he too is complaining about it in a way. But I can’t blame any of them for it – no one deserves to have horrible things said to them in hopes of provoking a reaction.
I’d wear a nice large rimmed hat or wear the same clothes on outings. The paps would hate that and the photos would be worthless. I actually like Hilaria and Alec. Her yoga poses are motivating to get me moving and take better care of myself. She’s a good mama too. As for Alec, I think he gets a bad rap. Why would he like the paps tailing him and his wife with their baby when they’re out on the streets or following them out to the Hamptons? I wouldn’t like that myself. Okay, here it comes….1,2,3…
I wouldn’t like it either, but I don’t get millions for talking infront of a camera.
George Clooney rarely, if ever, whines about the paparazzi. The man handles it all like a pro, really. He knows how to work the business part of fame. Even in interviews, he never acts put out or surly, like many do when promoting and enduring the same questions over and over, never on the red carpet, and I just never really see him carrying on about the paps. He doesn’t have kids so isn’t tailed that way, is all over the globe shooting movies, so not really hounded day to day. I don’t get using him as an example. There are plenty of other actors or actresses I would use.
I think the journalist gave Clooney as example( Clooney’s press conference after Lady Di’s death) because i don’t see Clooney whining against paps after his RP stunt for paps named “his italian wedding”.
But don’t forget Clooney banned the paps by a new law around his italian home
Maybe he’s referring to the wedding shenanigans?
Having a wedding weekend is a shenanigan? Well, thats a cute description anyway. I’ve been to a lot of wedding events that were longer, and more shenanigan-y than George & Amal’s and they were hilarious.
The wedding was Clooney Circus Central and he and wifey total famewhored it.
He became a Kardashian this summer with that wedding press.
George’s peeps were leaking like faucets and in wedding self promotion mode from the day of the engagement.
Jayna, well said. Clooney complained about the papz after they caused the death of Princess Diana, and after they photographed a child getting undressed in her bedroom at his villa, both incidents that should have been talked about. Bale is known for bitching about everything and being a nightmare to work with, so kinda hypocritical for him to throw shade at anyone.
Since when is Bale known to be a nightmare to work with? If that were the case, talented and powerful directors who can pick and choose anyone, wouldn’t work with him over and over again.
If you don’t like Bale, that’s your prerogative but please get your facts straight.
He didn’t really throw shade, the reporter did and Bale just agreed and then went into the same spiel Clooney usually gives about not complaining as a movie star.
Bale is a very good intense method actor, and he did have the problem on Terminator and yelled at a sound man, but most others loved working with him. Bale apologized later, but he is very intense when working whereas Clooney not so much.
Let’s not forget George has had his issues on set too. He walked off of one of his early tv shows, and he did get into a fist fight with David O. Russell. Everyone blamed David O. Russell, but seriously my boss has been an A#$#$ before but I have never slugged him. Don’t think that was the most professional way to handle it either way. Just saying.
Bale is my favorite actor so I have read most interviews with him and about him- aside from the Terminator incident, all the other comments from co-workers have been very positive. I’ve never seen another complaint.
I think if paps start to terrorize his daughter Luka or follow his nannies to get a shot of the new baby, he would find himself “whining.”
Same idea.
Wrong post sorry!
Isn’t his daughter’s name Emmeline? And he has a son, is his name Luka? Luka is a boy’s name.
Didn’t Clooney hold a press conference railing against the paparazzi around the time of princess Di’s death? Maybe he still remembers that.
+1
Bale is promoting upcoming “Exodus” I am guessing. He called Moses a schizophrenic (don’t know how it helps to promote that movie) and he is now on to GC. GC uses paps whenever he wants to and then screams privacy when he doesn’t have anything to promote, IMO.
I do understand the outrage If paps are getting into the private homes just to get few shots or harassing family members though.
Not that I love hearing celebs complain but the paps in the US are terrible and dangerous. I mean celebs are allowed to complain about their job hazards like anyone else. Is Halle Barry not allowed to complain that the same pap climbed over the gate to her property three times scaring her kid? Or that a grown man shouting in her face scared the daughter of Ben Affleck? What about the time a pap chased Tori Spelling and she got into an accident by her kids school WHILE PREGNANT. That’s crazy to me
The US needs some tougher laws on these assholes because they endanger everyone chasing after a celeb. I mean I had a recent encounter with a pap that hit me with his camera trying to chase down a celeb. And my crime was being on the wrong street. They are the worst so I don’t blame celebs for hating them
Seriously–the paps suck.
Why people always rush to their defense is beyond me.
Yeah, I honestly don’t mind when celebs complain about the paps–unless it’s obvious that they’re calling them (like Ashley Greene when she was complaining about the perils of being famous, while being pap’d every day going to the freaking gym), but even then…eh.
Where did you read that Bale is paparazzi-friendly or doesn’t dislike them? His point is “don’t give them what they want” and ” don’t whine.”
According to some X17 paps,Bale used to menace them to call the police for harrassement when they were in front of his home (before California’s anti-paps laws)
Paps are horrible not only in the US, believe me.
i dont care as long as someone A-List calls out George Clooney. annoucning his wedding so the paps could book their hotel rooms in advance is really asking for it.
Yup. Kudos to Bale.
George is a total hypocrite, fame whore.
I don’t even care what’s coming out of his sexy mouth, just look at him in that header pic. He could say almost anything and I wouldn’t even care…
This. I was hypnotized by the photo. I feel pregnant
+1000.
oooo… Fight! Fight! Fight! *bangs tables, flings chairs*
LMAO!! Ikr!! that fight would be so EPIC!!
**BATMAN VS THE DARK KNIGHT**
Did he just call George a prostitution whore?
I saw what you did there LMAO!!!
*chokes on rug* omg!! *wipes coffee off keyboard. it’s too early in the morning to laugh.
Bale may too manly for George to try to tangle with.
George verbally fought Steve Wynn a 70 something year old man ,but I wonder if he’d want to tangle with Bale a person who seems pretty no nonsense.
I remember Russell Crowe once saying something about Clooney. I don’t remember if Clooney ever responded?
I STILL WOULD!
Wasn’t the story about that last sung of the paps because the pap had taken pictures of Don Cheadle’s then underage daughter while she was changing her clothes? Apparently he and his family were visiting Clooney at his Como house. So, if that was the case I can’t judge the man for suing the paps.
But really instead of focusing Clooney’s whining he should addressing the whole controversy around his movie.
Is it possible he’s also talking about the whining George Clooney has been doing about the tabloids as per Amal? Like yeah the Mirror and stuff got nasty about Amal’s religion and parents but Clooney’s rep is always making statements about what’s true and not true and fighting back at the press. Not that he doesn’t have the right to do so but he definitely over-saturates the media on purpose. He could have married on the DL if he wanted. Bale has two incidents that made gossip headlines but then managed to stay out of it; he managed to basically hide his wife’s recent pregnancy from the tabloids and regularly avoids getting papped for attention. It’s understandable he’s puzzled by Clooney’s antics. Who is doing the better job protecting his spouse here really? I’d probably say Bale.
I’m just happy to have another photo of Bale. Thanks Kaiser! (and Batman vs Batman boyfight??? I’m down!)
Bale is right Kaiser – bang on the money in fact –
others may ‘whine’ more in mag articles, odd twitter comments but ONLY Clooney has the planet sized diva ego to threaten the Daily Mail with court action and keep blathering on about it whilst forcing a public climb down just for a gossip article ( that incidentally wasn’t inciting religious hatred, just riffing on already known facts) or bandwaggoning Princess Diana’s death, all whilst simultaneously whoring himself to any outlet that would have him for his PR romance…
Kick his ass, Bale!
http://online.wsj.com/articles/q-a-with-actor-christian-bale-1417449357
The whole interview. What he said on Clooney is a few different and the interview is interesting and honest.He talks about Dicaprio,McConaughey’s winning…
Bale is correct!!!!! George Clooney has only said for young actors to not complain about fame. But HE has complained about paparazzi time and time again and even blasted a reporter during a press for one of his movies ( trying to shame him in front of all his colleagues) because the guy asked him about his private life (but invites the paps for his weddings?!): http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/celebrity/george-clooney-blasts-reporter-20110915-1kajg.html
He recently blasted the daily mail and now his friends are the ones speaking out about the paparazzi because George would never!!! He is such a nice guy: http://www.esquire.co.uk/culture/features/5480/the-george-clooney-interview/
I am dying for this “feud” to unravel because, you know… George can’t bash Bale’s acting. Bale’s acting skills get circles around George’s. I mean Bale’s portrayal in the empire of the sun alone( as a child) give any/all combined of George’s characters, a run for his money. George has played the worse Batman in the worse Batman movie ever!
Come on, Diva! Please, entertain us and reply to Bale!
ps: George, I can help you in your response. You can say you don’t have any anger issues and you never went ballistic on a movie set. There, I started for you.
I’m not sure George wants to tangle with Bale. George likes to pick fights he can win or where he can spout loudly and his message be the main one heard. I think Bale is loud when he wants to be and goes for the jugular.
This is coming from a guy who doesn’t know what an Egyptian looks like. Yeah, STFU bale.
Bale only brought up Clooney because the interviewer suggested Clooney. Bale wasn’t throwing shade at him specifically. But I guess an co-incidental name-droppping doesn’t make a good title for an article.
Wow this is how gossip gets a life of its own. Bale never really went after Clooney so I doubt even Clooney 2.0 will respond. The Wall Street Journal reporter is the one who brings up Clooney, specifically when Bale states you can’t really lose with the Batman franchise, and the reporter goes into the failure of Clooney’s Batman. Which Bale deftly says he didn’t know about it, which I find hard to believe since he was the Batman after him.
Then the reporter goes into the publicity surrounding Clooney’s wedding, and how we don’t even know what Bale’s wife looks like. He states he should have as much privacy as anyone else. Then the third time the reporter says, But I’ve heard Clooney railing about tabloids and privacy too. Bale responds :I know, but it’s boring, isn’t it? You know what I mean? It doesn’t matter that he talks about it. It’s like, come on, guys, just shut up. Just get on with it and live your lives and stop whining about it. I prefer not to whine about it.
There was a lot of work to get a nice gossipy remark taken out of context to start a fight with two guys who probably don’t really know each other or care that much. To be honest I don’t really disagree with what Bale said at all, even in regards to Clooney.
Interesting isn’t it how things taken in part tend to snowball?
Thanks for posting his reply. Yes, he was only replying to what the reporter asked him and he was very diplomatic about all the questions. But he was spot on in a diplomatic way.
Yup, I just read the full interview and what he said is much more benign than the headline would suggest. But the media will turn it into a fight, ridiculously.
Christian is my new fav, so bloody hot.
I think Bale is gorgeous.
The original article was very interesting. He rarely talks about his family, but he offered little insights here while still being protective. I agree it’s awful how that headline from Page Six will be what gets picked up when it’s so misleading. Also, he actually DID confront the pap who harassed his wife; if you read the full quote, he goes on to say that he eventually had to confront the guy who got exactly what he wanted — pics of an angry Bale.