A celebrity publicist claimed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle acted unreasonably by not allowing photographers to take pictures of them ahead of their so-called “near catastrophic” paparazzi car chase through Manhattan Tuesday night.
Rob Shute — former publicist for stars like Jennifer Lopez, P. Diddy and Princess Michael of Kent — claimed the royal couple practiced poor media strategy by inviting press to the Women of Vision Awards event and then slipping through the back to avoid the paps.
“The photographers wanted to get the photos that they came out to get,” Shute told The Post Wednesday. “Going out and letting them take pictures of you outside the venue is part of being a celebrity.”
Harry, 38, and Markle, 41, left the event at the Ziegfeld Theater in Midtown with Markle’s mother around 9:50 p.m. tailed by paparazzi who were unable to get any shots of the famous couple as they left the venue.
A representative for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said the trio “were involved in a near catastrophic car chase at the hands of a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi.”
“This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers,” the rep added. “While being a public figure comes with a level of interest from the public, it should never come at the cost of anyone’s safety.”
But law enforcement sources described a much less dramatic ordeal, saying the chase only lasted about one hour as the family switched to a yellow cab to try to get the paps off their trail.
A private security car and a NYPD vehicle accompanied the trio’s vehicle as a “significant” press presence followed, sources said.
There were no 911 calls or collision reports made related to the case, the NYPD said.
The royals were reportedly trying to call it a night and head to the private Upper East Side residence where they were staying without revealing the location to the press and paparazzi.
“It’s unrealistic for them to try and hide where they were temporarily staying,” Shute said. “It’s not like they even live there… And the press would never report the address of where they’re staying.”
The publicist added that it’s no secret among members of the press where big stars like Beyoncé lives or Taylor Swift stays while in New York.
“New York is the biggest media capital in the world, it’s not reasonable to think you should run away from the press,” he said. “It’s a weird battle for them to be fighting.”
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