The surrealist photographer is happy with the settlement of the lawsuit where she is accused of using similar images in her video.
- October 19, 2011
AceShowbiz -
All is settled now between singer Rihanna and photographer David LaChapelle who were tangled in a lawsuit about her "S&M" video. LaChapelle asked for $1 million in damages but the final amount paid is not disclosed, NY Post reported. "David is happy with the settlement," the shutterbug's publicist said.
LaChapelle sued Rihanna for copying his provocative pictures in the raunchy scenes of her video. In the lawsuit, he claimed that the video copied his poses, lighting, wardrobe and props. The "pink room scene" in particular is similar to his "Striped Face" photograph.
Manhattan federal Judge Shira Scheindlin said that LaChapelle "successfully alleges" that Rihanna and the video director may have copied his images.
"I like RiRi," LaChapelle said earlier this summer. "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."
