Bajan pop star Rihanna has settled a lawsuit from fame photographer David LaChapelle over her “S&M” music video props.
Earlier this year, LaChapelle accused Rihanna of copying his photographs for one of her music videos. In the summer he 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.
According to reports, LaChapelle received an undisclosed sum from Rihanna and her label.
LaChapelle’s publicist told NY Post that he is “happy with the settlement.” The famous photographer had been seeking $1m in damages from the pop star, 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.”
Rihanna lawyers claimed that LaChapelle was “trying to monopolise a whole genre” of sadomasochistic images, Scheindlin dismissed the issue of fair use. The two parties eventually settled the case before it heads to trial.
Rihanna’s “S&M” video is also the subject of another ongoing lawsuit.
Paris-based photographer Philipp Paulus alleges that Rihanna had also copied his work for the video. It is not clear if that suit is resolved.
