S&M: Settle & Make-Up (Money?) – Photographer David LaChapelle drops lawsuit against Barbadian singer Rihanna
Bajan entertainer Rihanna has settled a lawsuit from photographer David LaChapelle, who accused her of copying his photographs for one of her music videos. Earlier this summer, LaChapelle won the right to go to trial to contest the singer’s alleged use of his Italian Vogue images in the video for her song S&M. {Was it HER fault, or fault of her PRODUCERS? Do Def Jam heads need to roll?}
(CLICK FOR BIGGER) John Dolan is an artist who works across many mediums but is best known for his watercolours, oils and drawing skills. Born in County Durham in 1962, he studied at both York College of and Edinburgh College of Art and graduated with a BA (Hons) in 1995.
In July, a New York judge ruled LaChapelle had a claim for copyright infringement, drawing connections between his famous “Striped Face” photo and the video’s “Pink Room Scene“. “Both works share the frantic and surreal mood of women dominating men in a hyper-saturated, claustrophobic domestic space,” wrote Judge Shira A Scheindlin. “An ordinary observer may well overlook any differences and regard the aesthetic appeal of ‘Striped Face‘ and the ‘Pink Room Scene‘ as the same.”
LaChapelle received an undisclosed sum from Rihanna and is “happy with the settlement“, his publicist told the New York Post. The celebrated photographer had been seeking $1m in damages from the pop star and her label, alleging she borrowed everything from models’ poses to his lighting setup. “I like RiRi,” LaChapelle said. “This is not personal, it’s strictly business. Musicians commonly pay to sample music or use someone’s beats and there should be no difference when sampling an artist’s visuals.”
