ET Becomes the First Media Outlet to Boycott Paparazzi Photos of Kids

Since announcing that they wanted to stop media organizations from publishing photos of celebrity children without their consent, Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard have been campaigning hard to make that happen. And looks like they’re actually getting somewhere.

In January, Shepard and Bell asked their fans to stop reading magazines that use paparazzi photos of celebrity children. The couple has targeted People magazine specifically as a publication that could and should put this ban on “unauthorized” photos into effect. On Twitter, Bell said the couple has gone after People because “they’re better than their trashy weekly counterparts. they are a quality ent mag,” she wrote. “They often print REAL stories abt REAL ppl who actually deserve to be news. But they need a nudge in the right direction.” Bell also spoke with BuzzFeed about the issue, criticized Radar Online for publishing photos of Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s kids on the way to his funeral and railed against the E! network and other media outlets.

Bell has said that she won’t do interviews with publications that don’t abide by her wishes and on Friday, she proved it. Entertainment Tonight announced that they were the first to join Shepard and Bell’s ban and the couple said they’d be going on the show that evening to discuss the issue with Nancy O’Dell:

“We are proud to support Kristen Bell and other celebrities in their efforts to protect their children from intrusive paparazzi,” said ET Executive Producers Linda Bell Blue, DJ Petroro and Co-Executive Producer Linda Fuller. “It is our sincere hope that having ET take a leadership position on this issue sends a clear message to the photographers taking these unwanted shots, that this behavior will not be tolerated or supported.”

“By joining forces, ET and the couple hope that additional press outlets will follow their lead,” they wrote. The executive producer of the ET‘s sister show The Insider has also agreed to the policy. “I’m happy to say that The Insider can easily adopt a ‘no kids’ policy because we already had one,” he said in an Instagram video. “So we support Kristen in her efforts and we are going to keep stars and their kids safe.” ET‘s partners have thus far been silent about the issue.