Hollywood life is indeed glamorous. There are the award shows, the work perks, and just the overall recognition that comes with being famous. But then there are the extreme downfalls — like having stalkers.
Actress Pauley Perrette, who plays the slurpee-sipping science pro Abby on NCIS, got emotional when talking about her work as an advocate against stalkers in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. (She will also appear on 48 Hours to speak on the same subject.) As a victim of stalking, she deals with the constant fear daily. Personally, she's dealing with stalkers for 13 years and counting. She says she is "on guard, at all times" and that it's a "terrible way to live."
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The 47-year-old actress describes being a stalking victim "as the theft of your life," on the site.
"There's nowhere to go, there's nowhere to run," she said. "It's 24 hours a day. If I go anywhere, which is rare, I go to places that have like, extreme security… I don't go anywhere alone," she explained. "I live by very strict rules. I never say where I'm going. I only say where I've been after I'm not at that place anymore."
Perrette also describes her frustration with reporting her stalker. One policeman even told her that when he approached her, she should have stayed and let him "break her arms" so that they could have done something (like charge the man with a crime). Following her own traumatic events, Perrette is been on a mission to improve the current stalking laws. She wants to make a change to prevent dangerous interactions from happening to anyone else.
But of course, they still have. Like Perrette, Kendall Jenner, Gwyneth Paltrow, Taylor Swift have all had dreadful and frightening experiences with obsessed fans. Luckily for them, all of their situations ended in the courtroom. But not every celebrity is so fortunate in bringing their stalker to justice.
"If I can change the law and save someone else's life, it gives me something to the story, other than I'm a stalking victim," she said.