http://lawrence.com/news/...ory/125921

KU student takes camera-shy Prince to court
By Terry Rombeck, Journal-World

Tuesday, May 4, 2004

Anthony Fitzgerald probably won't be partying like it's 1999 tonight when Prince comes to Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo.

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The Kansas University sophomore has a lawsuit pending against the singer and his bodyguard, claiming the bodyguard stole his digital camera and left him "stunned and humiliated."

The alleged incident occurred Dec. 29, when Fitzgerald was preparing to board a plane at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport for a winter break trip to London.

Fitzgerald's attorney now won't allow him to talk about the case. But before the suit was filed, Fitzgerald told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that he saw Prince and approached him to take a photo. A cart was waiting to take Prince and his entourage elsewhere in the airport.

"I turned around," Fitzgerald said, "and right in front of my face was his bodyguard, who said, ‘What the hell do you think you're doing?' (He) snatched the camera out of my hands and got on the (cart), and they drove off."

The lawsuit alleges the bodyguard, identified only as "Trevor," "lunged at (Fitzgerald) in an aggressive, threatening manner."

Fitzgerald, 20, alleges "intentional infliction of emotional distress" that left him anxious and unable to sleep. His mother told the Star-Tribune he was a fan of the pop star until the incident.

Prince, 45, is a native of Minneapolis who owns the multimillion-dollar Paisley Park recording studio complex there. The pop artist is known for songs such as "1999," "Little Red Corvette" and "Purple Rain."

His spokeswoman has declined several requests for comment on the incident.

The lawsuit was dated Jan. 14, but it wasn't filed until last month because Prince's attorney and other representatives refused to accept a copy of it.

"They've been very difficult," Kari Berman, Fitzgerald's attorney, said Monday. "You can't just walk up to Prince and get close enough to serve the papers. He has people surrounding him."

Berman said she was prepared to go to trial if necessary to claim damages for Fitzgerald's emotional and physical suffering. She said buying Fitzgerald a new camera wouldn't be enough at this point.

"I think there's more involved than that," she said. "It's not just about replacing the camera."

Anthony Fitzgerald needs to respect Prince's privacy, especially in his home town! The lawsuit should be dismissed. He's only after him because he is Prince!

Young Fitzgerald might not want to advertise who he is at the show tonight, should he be in attendance.

Lot's of people don't appreciate his lawsuit and might ruin his night telling/showing him so. As we all know, Prince has some pretty outspoken fans.

The kid's

lawyer said:

Now if the lawyer is having this much trouble getting the papers served how in the hell does he think he's gonna win the case for a kid who just walked up to Prince and got close enough to take a picture

licoriceandgoldenseal said:

Oh shush u.

licoriceandgoldenseal said:

um, no. that's not the way the law works. you can't simply walk off with someone's possession because they took a photo of you in a public place. there are security cameras all over the airport so should prince knock those down too? give me a break. i hope this is a lesson to prince that he needs real professional guards and not these goons he knew from around the way.

yes, the kid is trying to get more than he deserves but, at the same time, prince took it further than it deserved. if the proper people were hired (or if they just ignored this kid in the first place...like everyone else does in the same situation) this wouldn't even be happening.

i'm not buying the 'emotional distress' factor. the guy has a case because he didn't violate the law and his camera was stolen. .. but still.

my guess is the kid is just plain chaka mad. chaka real mad

i wonder why someone from the prince camp didn't just handle this situation with an apology and the return of the camera? it seems so at odds with prince's religion to diss the guy like that

well, i guess we know what to answer at the next concert when he asks us "is it better to lead or to follow?"

just yell back "it's better not to steal the damn camera!"

Supernova said:

Yep, another long thread on the same topic as a few weeks ago, to be more precise. There's really no new information in this story than what we already know.

The kid's gonna get his camera back with a bunch of photos stored on it of Larry Graham's taint.

NCC2012 said:

Aint that a bitch!

PS: something in the post 4 u 2morrow: F-I-N-A-L-L-Y!

SassyBritches said:

I've noticed in a lot of posts regarding the topic of this lawsuit that people are referring to Anthony Fitzgerald as a "kid". He's 20 years old, he's not a kid. He's an adult.

He's an adult that should have known enough to have the decency to ask for a picture. Which he did not do, so as far a Prince or his bodyguard may have known this 20 year old man standing there taking pictures could have been a nut, a stalker, or a sleezy tabloid journalist.

In my personal opinion, I think he's lucky all he got was his camera taken!

I just wanted to make sure that people know this little bit of information that seems to keep getting twisted up around here, that's all.

NCC2012 said:

Exactly.

SexyBeautifulOne said:

AND WHICH IS NOT ILLEGAL, unlike when you, say, steal someone's personal property...




or a 20-year-old guy with a camera in a busy public airport full of surveillance cameras and tourists, 99 flowers on their backs and everrthang.



Well, when John Woo and Quentin Tarantino are appointed by our president to redraft the U.S. Constitution (which could happen, so don't laugh), I'm sure you'll have a promising career as a judge.

Meanwhile, people get on my nerves all the time. While it should be illegal, unfortunately I have to deal with it or suffer the consequences. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I love Prince, I'm so happy to see how well he's doing this year, but dammit, I hope that guy walks off with a hefty hunka change. Maybe he and that guy who's suing Courtney Love for bashing him in the face with her mic stand can pool their resources and start a Victims of Celebrity Violence shelter.

Anxiety said:

once again, I'm reminded why I love you!