Not a critique of Osaka herself alone but I do think it is a dangerous trend that celebrities and media people can vilify the press as mental health bullies for asking the same questions which is essentially doing their jobs. Haz is much more guilty of this and we’ve called him out on it before.
Asking questions is the central point of journalism and a media that can only parrot the approved statements of the influential is doomed and dangerous.
while this might seem a bit dramatic for sports and celebs it is the popular coverage which supports a lot of the reporting of our investigative presses.
Ultimately, the press are people too and most of the time they are doing their job in the boundaries of a reciprocal system with the celebrity. I think we should be wary of the implications of blanket branding them as ghouls, liars and manipulators.
this is a struggling industry and the sussexes suddenly deciding they didn’t want to allow photos from one particular paparazzi agency forced a lot of people out of work during Covid (though notably they do photos for others.)
Ultimately it’s no real skin off the nose of the French open, Piers, Osaka, the royals or H&M but it is no paycheck for the reporters who get paid by the story or the picture as is growing standard in the industry and I think this class dynamic isn’t really discussed at all.
I can definitely see the analogy betweenv Osaka’s refusal to do press for an institution she’s taking part in (the French open) and MM’s ( the BRF) but I think it is a bit harsh on Osaka as I get she is young and under a lot of pressure at a highly competitive level whereas MM is a well-aged bird who apparently found smiling and going on holiday too challenging