X17 co-owner Brandy Navarre on paparazzi principles, and why she just might be Britney's best friend

Each day, the relationship between Britney Spears and the paparazzi grows more and more bizarre. X17, the largest photo agency in Los Angeles, is usually at the front of the pap pack, capturing Brit's lunacy with an unflinching, and often unflattering, lens.

Until recently the agency was able to get exclusive photos of the singer-cum-tabloid mainstay by having a number of photographers follow her every move. But the landscape changed when the pop star's life took yet another strange turn and Britney started hooking up with photographer Adnan Ghalib, from rival photo agency Finalpixx.

The competition for photos of Hollywood's It girls, and Britney in particular, is notoriously fierce, with reports of photo agencies hiring L.A. gang members to get the up-close money shots. Some seasoned photographers are even dropping out of the hunt, claiming the streets are just too dangerous.

Brandy Navarre, who co-owns X17 and X17Online with her husband, recently sat down with Susan Campos to explain the complicated relationship between Spears and the paparazzi, the increasingly high-stakes business of pap photography, her views on celebrity privacy, and how, ultimately, chasing Britney mainstreamed her company.


Click here to see five of X17's most notorious photos, and read Navarre's commentary.

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RADAR: Those pictures of Britney Spears shaving her head changed your business. You were suddenly working with the mainstream media.
BRANDY NAVARRE: The whole Britney episode certainly created a lot more outlets for us. CNN is now a regular client of ours. A few years ago they wouldn't have done it.

In a way, we're [Britney's] only friends at this point. The photographers are worried about her. They always say nice things and compliment her, because they want to boost her moraleThe way celebrities are covered has dramatically changed and now there are many more outlets for your pictures. How do you respond when the mainstream media is critical of the paparazzi and then they run your pictures on television?
It's a bit disingenuous, because these outlets are the very ones who are paying my bills. People are buying what we're selling. If the public weren't asking for it and CNN weren't providing it we wouldn't be in business. But the truth is, not that many people criticize us these days. Everyone is hooked on this stuff now. People used to hide magazines like Star and US Weekly beneath the New York Times. But no one feels it's necessary to hide anymore. I can talk with a 45-year-old lawyer or a 60-year-old doctor and they are better informed about celebrity culture than I am.

You always have a number of photographers following Britney. It's a 24-hour watch that, according to Blender magazine, is "a surveillance mode usually reserved for prisoners and suicides." Do you ever feel bad when you see the pictures? It's almost like you're providing a day-to-day diary of her personal breakdown.
Sure, you do start to feel for her. It may sound ridiculous, but I think of her almost like a friend. In a way, we're her only friends at this point. Which is kind of sad. The photographers are worried about her. When they have the video camera on her, they're always very friendly to her. They always say nice things and compliment her. They say nice things because they feel for her and they want to boost her morale.

It almost seems like you have a soft spot for Britney Spears.
I admit it, I do. She hasn't seen her children in a month. I don't understand it. There are crack mothers who are allowed to see their children. Why is she singled out?

Isn't it tragic to watch someone's life dissolve in front of you?
Unfortunately, at this point there's almost nothing private and personal as far as Britney is concerned. Too many of the people around her have revealed and recycled almost every single detail about her personal life. So much of it is lived in front of the cameras that she can't convincingly ask for privacy or a personal life anymore. That's not just because of us. It's because of her bodyguards, nannies, and assistants going and selling their stories to the tabloids and throwing out the window any confidentiality agreements they've signed.

Her relationship with the paparazzi has become bizarre. They pump her gas, help her with car troubles, or pick up her checks after she goes out to eat. And she was (or maybe still is) dating a paparazzo from another agency by the name of Adnan Ghalib. That must be a first.
I've never heard of another celebrity who would date a photographer. That Britney would date not just a photographer, but a paparazzo, is bizarre. The fact is, he was clearly taking advantage of her. Conning her into taking photos and having her take pictures while buying a pregnancy test isn't love. It's just pretty sleazy. Listen, we're taking her picture, too. We're also making money off Britney's story, but we aren't setting up shots of her or trying to have images misconstrued.

There are even reports they went to Mexico and got married. Do you think that's true?
I'm positive that's not true. He took her down to Mexico to get pictures he could sell. But he is still spending lots of time with her, which is kind of surprising to us because Britney's parents are supposed to be controlling and putting this tight rein on her. But for some reason they're still allowing him to visit.

For a while [Britney, Paris, and Lindsey] were totally competing for media attention with one another. They were all actively vying to see who could get more headlines and pictures in the press. We were glad to help them allSince he is at a rival agency, are you a little bitter about the access his relationship gives your competitors? Is it sour grapes since he was getting all these exclusives?
No, we felt like for a month he was controlling her. Normally her dating someone would be huge news, but to be honest, the fact that it was one of our competitors made it not so appealing for us.

Are there ever pictures you wouldn't sell or put up on your blog?
We self-censor sometimes. It's your editorial discretion that decides what you're going to put up and what you're not going to put out. And it changes from moment to moment. We've certainly gone too far sometimes. We've made mistakes. But everyone in the media makes mistakes sometimes. The other day we had Jennifer Garner bending over and her butt-crack was hanging out of her jeans, and I was like no way we are using that. She was there with her kids and I don't want to see her butt-crack; it's not necessary. Whereas with other stars that would be the focus of the entire story. I can be plenty tasteless, but everyone has their limits, and I'm a mom and I feel like that happens to the best of us. Jennifer's not Britney or Paris Hilton.

What makes you treat Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, and Lindsay Lohan differently than, say, an actress like Julia Roberts or Cate Blanchett?

First of all, I think Paris Hilton was at a different level, but now I think Britney and Lindsay Lohan are there, too. They've all aggressively courted the media's attention, and especially the attention of the paparazzi. Whereas you have other celebrities who have specifically not asked for attention at all, and even shun it. Julia Roberts doesn't seem to want to be in the media at all. And she's a mom and she has kid and a family.

But Britney, Paris, and Lindsay are open game?
Yes. Because they compete for our attention and they don't care how they get it. When you see certain things slip out [laughs], whether it's the nipple slip or oops-no-underwear slips, I really don't get the feeling that any of that is unintentional or accidental. For a while it was obvious that those three girls were totally competing for media attention with one another. For a few months they were all actively vying to see who could get more headlines and pictures in the press. We were glad to help them all.

Let's take a look at five of X17's most memorable pictures and hear the stories behind them ...

First picture: Michael Jackson's children without their veils.

BRANDY NAVARRE: This was the first picture ever taken of Michael Jackson's first two children [Paris and Prince] without veils or anything concealing their faces. Michael always made sure they were completely covered in public. Everyone was dying to get this shot, because there was so much speculation as to whether Michael could have sired them. We're still wondering today if it was by artificial insemination. There was so much controversy at that time over whether they really are his biological children. Could they be? Everyone wanted to see if they looked anything like him. You can judge for yourself.

How did you get those shots?
This was a tip from a guy we've been working with for six or seven years. He was a Vietnam vet, and homeless at the time. He was just panhandling on a corner in Brentwood when he spotted them. He recognizes everyone. The kids went into an office building and he called us. He still works with us, actually, but he now has a car and an apartment.

How about this one: Nicole Kidman leaving her attorney's office on August 8, 2001, the day her divorce from Tom Cruise was finalized.

BRANDY NAVARRE: You don't see Nicole Kidman getting emotional very often. But the divorce was really getting ugly, and Tom Cruise was playing his usual games. She was at her attorney's office and she came out and it was bright, beautiful, sunny Hollywood day, and she threw her arms in the air. It looked like she was saying, "YES!"

She looked so relieved, it seemed like there might have been a little revenge in the gesture as well. It made you wonder what went on with that agreement behind closed doors. Maybe her 10-year contract [rumored to have been signed between Cruise and Kidman before their marriage] was finally over.

Now this: Paris Hilton getting arrested for a DUI on September 7, 2006.

BRANDY NAVARRE: We were tipped off to Paris' arrest by a valet parking attendant in the middle of the night. He knew it was Paris Hilton and he knew she'd been pulled over, but he didn't know exactly what was going on. Luckily our photographer lived two blocks away. He arrived at the scene before the cops had handcuffed her.

Britney Spears shaves her head on February 17, 2007.

BRANDY NAVARRE: As soon as Britney started shaving her head, the people who owned the hair salon started frantically pulling down all the shades and draping curtains over the windows. There was a mess of paparazzi waiting by the front door for her to come out.

For some reason, our photographer was the only one who thought about walking around the side of the building to find the one window that wasn't covered. Right after he fired off a few shots they draped that window as well.

Britney Spears with the umbrella: February 21, 2007.

BRANDY NAVARRE: A night after Britney was forced into rehab at Promises in Malibu, she checked herself out and raced back home. Our photographer was waiting at the gate. Britney was desperate to see her kids, but she didn't know where they were. So she went to Kevin Federline's house and knocked, but no one answered the door.

She went around to his house three times to see her children, but each time no one answered. Finally, she took her frustration out on one of our photographer's cars. It was a manifestation of all her anger because she wanted to see her children. People asked if we were going to press charges. I said, "Of course not, I'm a mother. I understand how she must have been feeling."