14 DAY TRIAL // Hailed as one of the most refreshing artists of her generation, Rihanna has landed in some trouble waters after famed photographer David LaChapelle announced his intention of suing her over similarities between his work and her latest video.
The singer recently unveiled the video for the single “S&M” off her latest album and, almost instantly, many noticed a lot of similarities between certain images in it and previous shots taken by LaChapelle.
Since Rihanna said nothing about it, everyone probably assumed she had drawn for inspiration on his work with his consent – but the lawsuit LaChapelle just filed in court proves otherwise.
The photographers is taking the singer to court and he wants unspecified damages because she ripped him off, a Reuters report says.
LaChapelle and his team of lawyers have identified at least 8 images that are taken from his previous work, including one of Rihanna in a pink latex suit and cap, sticking her tongue out and placing a sweet on it.
“The music video is directly derived from and substantially similar to the LaChapelle works,” the lawsuit states.
Court documents also say that the video uses “composition, total concept, feel, tone, mood, theme, colors, props, settings, decors, wardrobe and lighting” of LaChapelle’s work.
Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, who also makes a brief cameo in the video as a dog on a leash, took the trouble a while back to identify the similarities between the video and LaChapelle’s photos – and he came up with more than 8.
They’re 14 to be more precise, and you can see them all here.
Moreover, shortly after the release of the video, LaChapelle himself showed he was none too happy about the video, tweeting that Rihanna should not have settled for second best.
“@PerezHilton @rihanna the next time you make a David LaChapelle music video you should probably hire David LaChapelle,” he wrote. He later deleted the tweet.
As of now, Rihanna’s people have not commented on the lawsuit.