[dropcap]R[/dropcap]eading though history has made us numb to the idea of people in high positions of power abusing others at the bottom of the system. We have the accusations of Donald Trump’s deals with undocumented workers, and, most recently, the report that Italian director and screenwriter Bernardo Bertolucci admitted to non-consensually create a rape scene with French actress Maria Schneider in Last Tango in Paris. These events have lead many to become aware of the very real dangers of arrogance and as well as its impact on others.
While there are many, many, many arrogant people in every industry in the world, let’s discuss the leader of the pack in the fashion industry: Terry Richardson. Throughout Richardson’s career, he has driven through many slippery roads. His hypersexual 70’s photographs even lead to Helmut Newton calling him “boring.” (Newton retracted that thought in the same sentence by mentioning Richardson’s newfound identity in photography.) However, a slippery road that he drove and we weren’t necessarily counting on was Sexual Molester Lane.
To begin with, there’s fashion model Liskula Cohen who discussed the uncomfortable day she was morally obligated to leave a Vogue shoot after Terry Richardson asked her to undress herself and perform sex acts on his friends who tried disguising themselves as models. “He wanted me to be completely naked and pretend to give one of the men a blow job, while he was also naked,” she told New Statesman, “Needless to say I have never shared the images or this story with anyone. I live with this guilt inside of me, that I did something terribly wrong.”
In the same article by Harriet Williamson, another model named Sarah Hilker talked about her experience in meeting with the photographer at a model search party. “He was probably the worst type of person to photograph me, the images he chose to take at the event were very crass and lewd. There were young women so drunk they could barely stand, never mind be of sound mind to sign a model release form.”
Hilker, however, was a one of the lucky girls who was able to run away from the storm that Terry Richardson is. She told Jezebel “I saw him shooting some obviously inebriated chick straddling a full naked erect guy with her SG panties pulled over to the side one hand on the camera; the other hand grabbing his c*ck over his pants. I’m like HOLY SH*T! I immediately backed away, ran through a bunch of drunk women, confused business people, and out the door like I had just had the worst nightmare imaginable.”
Ex-model Jamie Peck also had a rather shocking experience with him. “I told him I had my period so I wanted to keep my underwear on, and he asked me to take my tampon out for him to play with. “I love tampons!” he said,” said Peck, “I politely declined his offer to make tea out of my bloody cunt plug. It was then that he decided to just get naked. Before I could say “whoa, whoa, whoa!” dude was wearing only his tattoos and waggling the biggest dick I’d ever seen dangerously close to my unclothed person (granted, I hadn’t seen very many yet). “Why don’t you take some pictures of me?” he asked. Um, sure.”
Men aren’t far from this situation either. Frank “Speedy” Lopera sued Terry after he included nude photos of him in his 2004 Taschen-published book Terryworld. Frank was 17 at the time but Richardson denied that by saying he was 19, which doesn’t exactly counteract the seriousness of the case, or make us want to take it like a grain of salt.
This list of people who Richardson has completely harassed and manipulated seems endless – a list that shouldn’t exist but, sadly, does. What can possibly be done in a situation like this? For one, stop supporting this man. Just yesterday, Kylie Jenner posted a photo of her up-and-coming 2017 calendar photographed entirely by Terry Richardson and not so long ago CR Fashion Book hired him to photograph a spread and cover for the 9th issue of the magazine. His career is still being supported by very important people in the world.
Vogue, however, was so distraught by the accusations that the director of communications Hildy Kuryk told TheWrap, “The last assignment Terry Richardson had for U.S. Vogue appeared in the July 2010 issue and we have no plans to work with him in the future.”
Even back in 2014, Lady Gaga had him direct a video of her single ‘G.U.Y’ but ultimately scrapped the entire thing. The reasoning behind the cancellation of the video remains unknown, but someone is to blame after she indirectly said “those who have betrayed me.” Many wondered if she referred to both R. Kelly (he too has a history of sexual misconduct and was set to appear with her in the video) and Richardson because the timing but nothing was confirmed.
It feels as if many people, especially celebrities who hold get power in culture, seem to not care anymore about many of these cases. Neither you, nor I must forget about what he has done to many and what he stands for. His history of sexual abuse stems as far back as possible and is impossible to be “made up” from one day to another.
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