George Clooney says making photos of his kids public 'would put their lives in jeopardy' in an open letter to the media

• George Clooney called on the media to stop publishing photos of celebrity children - including his own young kids.
• Clooney said in the open letter that it was a matter of safety.

George Clooney has called on the media to stop publishing photos of celebrity children - including his own - saying it is a matter of safety.

The actor specifically reached out to the Daily Mail in a public letter obtained by TODAY after seeing photos of Billie Lourd's one-year-old in the tabloid.

"Having just seen photos of Billie Lourd's 1 year-old baby in your publication, and the fact that you subsequently took those pictures down, we would request that you refrain from putting our children's faces in your publication," Clooney wrote to the Mail.

He continued: "I am a public figure and accept the oftentimes intrusive photos as part of the price to pay for doing my job. Our children have made no such commitment."

Clooney said that because of the nature of both his and his wife Amal Clooney's work, they take extra precautions to keep their entire family safe.

"We cannot protect our children if any publication puts their faces on their cover," he said. "We have never sold a picture of our kids, we are not on social media and never post pictures because to do so would put their lives in jeopardy. Not paranoid jeopardy but real-world issues, with real-world consequences."

"We hope that you would agree that the need to sell advertisement isn't greater than the need to keep innocent children from being targeted," Clooney concluded.

Clooney and his wife share two children, twins Ella and Alexander.