Rihanna settles with David LaChapelle over S&M video
By Gadiola Emanuel - 12:23:00 PM
The video for S&M was banned in some countries due to its sexual content
Rihanna
has reached a settlement with celebrity photographer David LaChapelle
after he claimed her S&M video was "directly derived" from his
pictures.
LaChapelle sued the singer earlier this year seeking $1m
(£630,000) in damages, saying scenes from the controversial video
plagiarised his own shoots.
A New York judge granted permission in July for the case to go to trial.
A publicist for LaChapelle confirmed the case had now been settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.
"David is happy with the settlement," Jaret Keller told the BBC.
LaChappelle said Rihanna had appropriated eight of his images
in the video, including one where she is shown in profile against a
blue background with a sweet on her tongue.
His case stated that Rihanna's video copied the "composition,
total concept, feel, tone, mood, theme, colours, props, settings,
decors wardrobe and lighting" of his work.
"This is not personal, it's strictly business," the photographer said on filing the legal claim.
"Musicians commonly pay to sample music or use someone's
beats, and there should be no difference when sampling an artist's
visuals."
A spokeswoman for Rihanna did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
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