George Clooney Defends Britney, Criticizes Paparazzi

By Gerri Miller

11/20/2007 at 02:20 PM EST

George Clooney sympathizes with Britney Spears in her troubles with paparazzi following her.

"You look at the footage of Britney running the red light – there's eight guys with cameras at night in the middle of the street. There are no rules now," he tells Entertainment Tonight in an interview airing Tuesday. "It's getting to a point where people that are not involved are getting hurt."

Clooney, 46, who was involved in a near-collision with paparazzi Nov. 16 while riding on his motorcycle in the Hollywood Hills, fears for his neighbors.

"What they're doing is illegal, it's high speed chases and they're competing with each other," he says. "They're not trying to catch me doing something stupid; they're trying to create me doing something stupid. You don't get to break all these laws and then say, 'I'm just doing my job.' The guys that commit all these crimes are rewarded for it. It creates bounty hunters in a way."

Clooney's advice for the paparazzi: "Take your pictures but don't go 60 mph down a one-way street. Don't cause injury to people who aren't involved."