Photographer Terry Richardson ordered to hand over 140,000+ photos of Lady Gaga in court case
posted Friday, July 12, 2013 at 2:00 PM EDT
In an ongoing legal dispute between popstar Lady Gaga and her former assistant Jennifer O’Neill, photographer Terry Richardson has been ordered to turn over tens of thousands of images for evidence.
O'Neill was Gaga's personal assistant from 2009 to 2011, and is suing for a massive amount of overtime she claims she is owned for working bizarre hours, and having to be at the stars beck and call. O'Neill is asking for $393,000 for 7,168 hours of overtime and damages (which works out to around $55 an hour). During part of this period, Terry Richardson worked in close proximity to Gaga, compiling his book Lady Gaga X Terry Richardson of her 2011 Monster Ball tour.
With his unprecedented access, Richardson snapped more than 140,000 photos of Lady Gaga, and a judge has now ruled he has to turn those over as evidence. O'Neill's legal team claims they offer proof of how closely O'Neill worked with Gaga, and at all hours. Richardson aimed to block the injunction, calling the images "irrelevant," but the judge ordered him to turn over the photos, noting “that Mr. Richardson … hasn’t demonstrated to [the court] that there is any significant burden in producing the photographs.”
Richardson has made a name for himself through his editorial, candid, and fashion photography (he even photographed President Obama back when he was a candidate), often shot using low-end gear, and with deliberately harsh lighting. According to the New York Daily News, from June 2012 to June 2013, Richardson pulled in an astonishing $58 million. Not a bad way to make a living!
(via PetaPixel)