Famed Photographer Dave LaChapelle Suing Rihanna For Stealing Ideas For Her "S&M" Video From His Published Pictures

 

Rihanna's new video for "S&M" is loud, flashy, fetishy and possibly completely stolen from Dave LaChapelle's work.

A lawsuit filed (February 14), on the U.S. fashion photographer's behalf alleges the "music video is directly derived from and substantially similar to the LaChapelle works."

The suit also alleges that "Rihanna had appropriated eight of his images into the video, such as a shot where she is shown in profile against a blue background with a piece of candy on her tongue. LaChapelle said Rihanna's video copied the 'composition, total concept, feel, tone, mood, theme, colors, props, settings, decors, wardrobe and lighting' of his work."

LaChapelle has shot cebrities for magazines such as Rolling Stone, Vogue, GQ and Vanity Fair. He is suing for unspecified damages according to Reuters.

The "S&M" video has been a real pain for RiRi. It's been banned in several countries, while youtube has made it age restricted.  It might have seemed like a great idea on paper, but the execution was obviously lacking.