After facing years of sexual harassment and assault allegations, fashion and celebrity photographer Terry Richardson is reportedly under investigation by the New York Police Department.
According to the New York Post, law enforcement sources said detectives in NYPD’s Special Victims Unit have reached out to women who have come forward with stories detailing assault by Richardson.
Among women who have come forward recently are model Caron Bernstein, who said Richard forced her to perform oral sex on him during a 2003 photo shoot. Model Lindsay Jones also told HuffPost earlier in December that Richardson attempted to force her to perform oral sex on him in 2007, then continued to sexually harass her after.
Even prior to the fallout resulting from the fall of Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, who was revealed in October to have sexually harassed and assaulted tens of industry women, Richardson faced his own allegations of assault. Models Jamie Peck and Anna del Gaizo detailed similar stories of Richardson forcing them to touch his penis with their hands or face, the allegations spanning years between 2010 and 2014. Weinstein is also currently under investigation by the NYPD.
Richardson has denied all allegations, his lawyers alleging that the shoot with Bernstein was “consensual,” and calling Jones an “opportunist.”
The investigation comes three months after Condé Nast International formally announced its blacklisting of Richardson from all its publications. The relationship termination between the photographer and media giant came after an article from a UK publication questioned why fashion mediums continued to work with Richardson despite his reputation as the “Weinstein of fashion.”
Richardson’s cover shoot work with Zoë Kravitz was also replaced for the January issue of Elle after the Weinstein allegations broke—though Richardson was reportedly banned from working with Elle in the years prior—and he’s also been dropped from other various brands.
H/T the Cut
