Dirty Little Secret

Chapter 85

"Alright, you two. We're all set." A male boom operator says to Tony & Kristina as they are set to be interviewed by Good Morning America.
"..And now for our exclusive interview. With us this morning is Tony Stark & his wife, Kristina. Good morning to you both. Thank you for joining us", Lara Spencer says.
"Thank you for having us", Tony & Kristina reply smiling.
"So everyone's been talking about the incident involving a TMZ reporter & Kristina at the Central Park Zoo. It's been a week since the altercation occured, how are you guys doing?"
"We're doing ok. It's been tough dealing with the fallout but it's nothing we can't handle."
"Kristina, I would like to hear from you regarding this incident."
"Well, it started off as a great day. It was a family outing. I kept noticing the same guy following us & secretly taking photos. Now normally we don't mind because with Tony being as well known as he is, people do tend to take photos. However, we were out with our daughter & my family. Just trying to have a wonderful time. I get that people are excited when they see us out in public but there's many reasons why our daughter is not in the spotlight."

"That's completely understandable. What sparked you to confront him?"
"I was growing increasingly more frustrated so I got fed up & I asked him politely not to take photos of us since we were with family. My family isn't in the spotlight. They don't have the security measures like we do. He had apologized & I left the subject alone."
"We do have a clip from that incident showing Kristina & the reporter who has been identified as Ron Stanfield." The clip of Kristina confronting him, breaking his camera & pouring water on the camera is shown.
"Now Kristina, I wanted to ask you.... What did you feel in that moment? What was going through your mind? Do you regret the incident?"
"First & foremost, I'm a mom. My first instinct is to protect my child, always. Now, what that recording doesn't show is him trying to follow me & my child as we were going into the bathroom earlier in the day. I told him that there wasn't going to be another warning & I once again asked him to stop or I would break his camera. Our daughter was having fun while Tony & I grabbed drinks for our group. I saw him again, sneakily taking photos of our daughter & I grew angry. I don't regret anything at all. My family doesn't have security like we do. We were just wanting a normal day at the zoo & to enjoy our time together. As I've stated, our daughter is not in the public eye. We're trying to give her a normal childhood, which I know is hard to do considering her dad is a superhero. You can photograph Tony & myself all you want. That's fine with us. It comes with the territory, we're used to it. But do not photograph our daughter without our knowledge or permission. That part of our life is private."

"I see. Is this also how you feel, Tony?"
"It is, yes. My wife is correct on that. We understand that Sophia isn't like other children her age but despite our immense wealth, she's a normal three year old. All she talks about is Disney princesses, what toys she wants & enjoys having tea parties with her mom & aunts. We keep her out of the spotlight so there's at least some part of our life that's private. Sacred, shall I say. We have issued Mr. Stanfield an apology & also replaced his equipment but as for my wife's actions, I see nothing wrong in how she handled the situation", he says giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. They glance at each other & smile.
"Kristina, what do you have to say to all those that say, if you wanted to keep your life that private why be out & about?"
"Why shouldn't we be? What, are we supposed to stay locked up in our home forever? What kind of life is that", Kristina replies slightly annoyed.
"I think what Kristina is trying to say is we have a right to be out & about. Staying in the house for too long gives you cabin fever. Our daughter should be able to experience all kinds of things. Going to the movies, visiting a museum, etc."
"Well, thank you both for joining us this morning. We really appreciate you taking the time out of your day for this. We hope to see you again soon."
"Thank you for having us", Tony & Kristina reply with polite smiles.
"Next, we'll be discussing the new Jennifer Aniston movie reviews. Stay tuned after this commercial break." The segment ends.