Rihanna’s sexy S&M music video has landed her in trouble with photographer David LaChapelle, who has launched a lawsuit claiming it plagiarises his work.
The celebrity snapper, who has worked for titles such as GQ, Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair, announced yesterday that he is taking legal action against the 22-year-old singer.
He is seeking unspecified damages, claiming that the “composition, total concept, feel, tone, mood, theme, colours, props, settings, decors, wardrobe and lighting” are derived from his work, and that eight of his images have been directly copied.
Scenes showing Rihanna dressed in pink latex and walking celebrity blogger Perez Hilton round a garden on a dog’s lead are amongst the ones LaChapelle believes have ripped off his work.
The video’s director, Melina Matsoukas, also shot the video for Rihanna’s Rude Boy single, which was accused of copying M.I.A’s Boyz video.
She said at the time: “It definitely wasn’t trying to rip anybody off at all – it was just our approach and the animation stuff, it had a similar vibe.
“We’ve seen that before with Grace Jones and Andy Warhol. We’re all inspired by similar elements and it came together that way.”
Watch the controversial video below:
