In her lawsuit against the rapper and Yeezy designer, the paparazzo, Nichol Lechmanik, is seeking damages, claiming she sustained 'great mental and emotional pain.'
- Jun 3, 2023
AceShowbiz - Kanye West was sued by a paparazzi photographer. The photographer, Nichol Lechmanik, accused the rapper of assault, battery and negligence after he threw the paparazzo's phone into the street during a heated argument.
Lechmanik insisted in a press conference on Thursday, June 1 that she was just doing her job as a celebrity photojournalist. "He reached into my car as if he were going to hit me, he grabbed my phone out of my hand and then angrily threw it into the street," she said. "He caused so much fear that I have not been the same since."
"He has no right to assault me, batter me or cause me to be afraid to pursue my profession," Lechmanik, who became emotional, continued. "I want Ye to know that he cannot do what he did to me without facing consequences. I am determined to stand up for myself to let him know that he must change his abhorrent behavior."
When asked by a reporter about the notion of violating a celebrity's privacy, Lechmanik insisted that she is always respectful of her famous subjects as she has been working as a photographer for 10 years. "I just think that people do not understand the hardship that we go to as far as photographers," she said. "I've never had any other incident happen like this with any other celebrity… I want people to know is that there are good people that do this profession. We're mindful of the celebrities. We're always concerned of their well being. I would never do any harm."
The photographer filed her lawsuit this week with the Ventura County Superior Court near Los Angeles, California, according to Variety. In her lawsuit, the paparazzo is seeking damages, claiming she sustained "great mental and emotional pain."
She also claims that she suffers from "lost earnings" as she's prevented from doing her job. The suit additionally calls West's conduct in the incident "willful, wanton and malicious."
Upon catching wind of the lawsuit news, fans jumped to the Yeezy designer's defense. "Miss girl, you invaded his privacy and kept following him…..," one fan wrote in an Instagram comment. "Miss girly pop stop whining that he threw your phone when you were literally following him and recording him …," someone else echoed the sentiment.
The said incident took place on January 27 when West was outside of a sports academy in Ventura County where he was attending his daughter's basketball game. In a video that went viral, the hip-hop star could be seen confronting a paparazzo who was caught filming him. As the woman didn't show any sign of stopping, the father of four snatched the phone and threw it into the street.
