Models Slam Terry Richardson With More Sexual Harassment Claims

It’s hard not to talk about Terry Richardson without talking about the more sinister side of the famed photographer’s reputation. Despite still being called on to photograph some of the world’s most high profile stars from Barack Obama to Beyonce, Richardson is plagued with ongoing accusations of sexual assault.

The catalyst for the latest allegations was a HuffPost Live session, which saw models Sara Ziff and Alise Shoemaker of Model Alliance engage in a discussion about harassment against models in the fashion business. According to Shoemaker, models continue to complain about their experiences shooting with the photographer, saying that he often pushed them to do something ‘compromising’ to get booked. It’s the reason Ziff has vowed never to work with him again. “(He'll) ask you to take your clothes off at the casting, and in some cases, give him sexual favors,” she says.

To anyone familiar with Richardson, the most recent allegations will come as no surprise but something that came out of the discussion that was alarming was the fact that models aren’t protected against sexual harassment in America as they are legally considered independent contractors.

Whether the allegations about him are true of false we don’t know but with the current position of the law leaving models completely unprotected right now, it’s an issue that deserves a lot more coverage and attention if there’s any hope that things will change.

On a side note, though, I do find it interesting that the fashion industry still refuses to respond to the ongoing allegations against the photographer. When models have been caught taking drugs or doing anything untoward, they’ve lost lucrative contracts and brands have made a point to separate themselves from them. But despite such serious allegations against Richardson, people continue to book him. I know there’s something to be said for being innocent until proven guilty but in this case I think it says something about the often warped values and priorities of our industry.

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