After having her S&M video banned in 11 countries for its sexual content, pop singer Rihanna is now being sued by famous fashion and celebrity photographer David LaChapelle over images in the video that he feels are copies of his works.
As reported by popeater.com, the lawsuit alleges that “the music video is directly derived from and substantially similar to the LaChapelle works,” and has copied the “composition, total concept, feel, tone, mood, theme, colors, props, settings, decors, wardrobe and lighting” of his popular works, which have graced the pages of magazines such as Vanity Fair, Vogue and Rolling Stone.
The lawsuit further explains that LaChapelle, who’s worked with Rihanna in the past, is citing eight specific scenes in the video that are rip-offs of his work, including the scene where Rihanna “walks” popular gossip blogger Perez Hilton on a leash, claiming it corresponds to a similar image he created for Vogue in 2002.
Even Hilton commented on the similarities via Twitter.
“The next time you make a David LaChapelle music video,you should probably hire David LaChapelle,” tweeted Hilton.
Below are a few of the images in question from Rihanna and LaChapelle.
