Judge Instructs Terry Richardson to Hand Over 140,000 Photos of Lady Gaga

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A federal court judge has ordered celebrity/fashion photographer Terry Richardson to surrender 142,000 shots of Lady Gaga as evidence in a lawsuit against the pop star.

Richardson trailed Gaga (nee Stefani Germanotta) on her 2011 “Monster Ball” tour, capturing myriad candid images of the singer off-stage.

Lawyers for the singer’s former assistant Jennifer O’Neill claim those backstage images are vital for documenting the endless hours of work O’Neill put in. O’Neill is seeking $393,000 as compensation for more than 7,000 hours of unpaid overtime.

O’Neill’s lawyers says Richardson’s photos, which were compiled in the 2011 book “Lady Gaga X Terry Richardson,” document that O’Neill was essentially on duty 24 hours a day when the pop star was on tour.

Lady Gaga x Terry Richardson is a best-selling photo book containing 350+ of Richardson's photos of Gaga
Lady Gaga x Terry Richardson is a best-selling photo book containing 350+ of Richardson’s photos of Gaga

Richardson fought the subpoena, saying the photos were irrelevant to the case and calling the request “harassment.” But Judge Paul Gardephe disagreed last week, ruling that the photos were useful as evidence and that Richardson “hasn’t demonstrated to [the court] that there is any significant burden in producing the photographs,” according to the New York Daily News.

Richardson, known for his sexualized images and eclectic equipment choices, has shot for major fashion houses such Yves Saint Laurent and Marc Jacobs along with magazines such as Vogue and Vanity Fair. The NY Daily News reports that he made $58 million between June 2012 and June 2013.

Richardson has until Sunday to turn over the requested images to O’Neill’s legal team. Feel free to calculate for yourself what level of Dropbox account you’d need to share 142,000 RAW files.

(via New York Daily News)


Image credits: terryrichardson01 by davetada, P92949135 by ynevdm

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