The moral of this story seems to be, if you’re going to use a person as a decoy for a famous person, ask first. Don’t just pick the person out of a crowd and let her or him be surrounded by paparazzi while the celebrity gets to trot off without being noticed.
This is exactly what happened to Adessa Eskridge, a woman from Ohio who happened to look a bit like Jamie Lynn Spears, AND, as fate would have it, be on Jamie Lynn’s flight. I wrote about this and similar celebrity excitement that goes on at LAX in a post last September. Back then, I didn’t know the story behind this story.
While Eskridge was minding her own business, just being her pretty self, the LA police noticed her, and according to this article, surrounded Eskridge as she got off the airplane. The eight or nine officers directed her to keep her glasses on and led her to baggage claim where the paparazzi snapped her picture. In the meantime, Jamie Lynn was able to trot off with her new baby without anyone noticing.
According to Eskridge, the police didn’t tell her what they were up to until right before the moment the paparazzi swooped in. Even though she was beyond confused, she went along with them. After the incident, Eskridge decided she’s not too pleased to have been used in this way. It caused her mental anguish and upset. As a result, she wants the LA police department to pay her more than $100,000 for her efforts. If the police department won’t pay up, she’s suing.
While reading the details, I’m thinking that getting hired out to be a celebrity decoy could be a plausible job in these days of celebrity love. Wouldn’t it be a cool job to look like someone else so that your picture could end up on the cover of a magazine next to the check-out line at the supermarket and you’d get paid for it? Particularly if you get to travel to some exotic locations in order to throw off the scent.
In Eskridge’s case, since she didn’t sign up for the job, if the police won’t pay up, maybe Jamie Lynn could get Eskridge a nifty gift as a way to thank her for a few hassle free moments.