Leaks, leaks, leaks

It looks like this year’s  list of Academy Award winners may have leaked earlier this week, as reported by E! Online. Well, that’s a BIG may have. A spokesperson for the academy has stated that the document is “a complete fraud.” Fine. We’ll have to wait and see just how accurate that list is.

But that’s not the scandalous web leak from this week that’s really concerning me, it’s the Los Angeles Police Department’s leak of Rihanna’s domestic abuse photo.

A TMZ insider told TheMediaBuffet.com that the gossip Web site payed $62,500 to a LAPD official close to the Rihanna/Chris Brown investigation for the photo of Rihanna after she was allegedly beaten by her boyfriend, Chris Brown.

Usually I hate to follow these kinds of stories — I try to stay away from Hollywood gossip — but the way that TMZ.com obtained the photo has been such a hot topic for the past two days that I decided I just have to mention it. After TMZ obtained the photo and posted it late Thursday night, the image spread across the Web like wildfire. (Of course.) TMZ’s post with the picture is filled with comments like this one:

“TMZ, this is in poor taste. Take this picture off for the privacy of Rihanna and her family! She is a victim of domestic violence and should NOT be exploited on your site like this!! SHAME ON YOU PEOPLE.”

The LAPD isn’t pleased with the leak. It began an internal investigation soon after the domestic violence photograph was released. It’s been reported that the money paid by TMZ doubles the LAPD official’s annual salary. The cool $62,500 is dwarfed by $14 million price tags for Brangelina baby photos. So where’s the real tragedy here? In the fact that LAPD is so much more easily paid off than Brangie? Or that the rights of the domestic violence victim have been COMPLETELY compromised?

I didn’t post the photo up here even though I know it’s hopeless, everybody’s seen it. If not, it WILL be seen in the drop of a .08-second google search. Is there any hope that the uproar around this incident will change the ways of checkbook journalism and give some celebrities (especially domestic violence victims) a piece of their dignity back?