A photographer has hit Gigi Hadid with a federal lawsuit, for her posting a photo he took of her ex-boyfriend, Zayn Malik.
According to court documents obtained by The Blast, Robert O’Neil has filed suit against Hadid (real name: Jelena Noura Hadid).
O’Neil accuses Hadid of copyright infringement over a photograph he snapped of Zayn.
The photographer accuses Hadid of taking his photo and posting it on her Instagram story.
He claims, “Gigi Hadid did not license the Photograph from Plaintiff for her Instagram Story, nor did Gigi Hadid have Plaintiff’s permission or consent to publish the Photograph on her Instagram Story.”
Further, “Gigi Hadid infringed Plaintiff’s copyright in the Photograph by reproducing and publicly displaying the Photograph 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”
O’Neil is demanding unspecified damages for alleged infringement. He also is seeking for Hadid to have to turn over accounting. He is demanding Hadid, “be required to account for all profits, income, receipts, or other benefits derived by Defendant as a result of its unlawful conduct.” He is seeking in excess of $150,000.
In the Instagram story, she used the photo of Zayn walking in the street. She captioned it “My Manz” and “Muze”.
Gigi is currently dating “The Bachelorette” star Tyler Cameron after splitting from Zayn.
The model is no stranger to legal battles with paparazzi. Earlier this year, she shut down a separate lawsuit brought by agency, Xclusive-Lee Inc.
The order stated, “the Court concludes that Plaintiff’s copyright infringement claim should nevertheless be dismissed due to Plaintiff’s failure to comply with the registration requirement.” The case will be officially closed and all claims dismissed.
