Ariana Grande is reportedly being sued by a photographer after the pop giant posted a photo he had taken of her.
The singer faces legal action from paparazzo Robert Barbera, who alleges that she violated copyright law by posting two pictures of herself on social media. The photos, who Barbera took in 2018, show the singer walking out of a building while holding a bag sporting the name of her ‘Sweetener’ album. Grande posted the pictures on Instagram and Twitter last August to coincide with the record’s release
While Barbera’s original lawsuit focused on the copyright violation, he is also suing her for damages amounting to either $25,000 (£20,000) or all the profits Grande earned from the photos – which means that he could potentially in a cut of the album’s first-day sales.
The lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, states: ““[Grande] infringed [Barbera’s] copyright in the Photographs by reproducing and publicly displaying the Photographs on the Instagram Page… [Grande] is not, and has never been, licensed or otherwise authorized to reproduce, publically display, distribute and/or use the Photographs.”
The legal challenge comes only months after Grande kicked off her massive ‘Sweetener’ world tour – which arrives in Europe this summer.
Reviewing her stop-off at Los Angeles’ Staples Center earlier this month, NME wrote: “The ‘Sweetener’ world tour might be mostly similar to the singer’s Coachella set but, with the luxury of more time and control, it does a better job at charting the evolution of one of pop’s brightest stars.”
Source: NME
