Frank Lewis/startraksphoto.com
Gigi Hadid is being sued over a photo she posted of ex-boyfriend Zayn Malik.
Photographer Robert O’Neil has filed a lawsuit against the supermodel in the Southern District of New York, citing copyright infringement. In the court docs, obtained by E! News, it’s stated, “This action arises out of Defendant’s unauthorized reproduction and public display of a copyrighted photograph of English singer and songwriter Zayn Malik, owned and registered by O’Neil, a New York based professional photographer.”
The docs also claim that Hadid “infringed” O’Neil’s copyright by “reproducing and publicly displaying” the photo of Malik on her Instagram Story.
“Gigi Hadid is not, and has never been, licensed or otherwise authorized to reproduce, publically display, distribute and/or use the Photograph,” the docs state.
In order to resolve this issue, O’Neil wants 24-year-old Hadid, who has yet to comment on the lawsuit, to declare that she did infringe his copyrights by posting the photo.
According to the docs, O’Neil is also seeking to be awarded either “actual damages and Defendant’s profits, gains or advantages of any kind attributable to Defendant’s infringement of Plaintiff’s Photograph” or “statutory damages of up to $150,000.”
Though she has not yet spoken out about this specific case, Hadid did comment publicly in Oct. 2018 after being sued for posting a since-deleted paparazzi photo of herself.
“To the paparazzi, I understand that this is how you make your living, and I respect that this is something I must accept with my job,” Hadid wrote. “But there is a line. We are human beings, and sometimes it takes a lot of courage to engage with you because of the resentment I feel for the negative parts of these experiences.”
E! News has reached out to Hadid’s attorneys for comment on this new lawsuit.
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