Executives at Xclusive-Lee Inc. are seeking damages from the older sister of Bella Hadid for the illegal use of her image as well as an injunction against her.
- January 29, 2019
AceShowbiz - Bosses at a paparazzi agency have filed suit against model Gigi Hadid, demanding damages over her unauthorised use of their photo.
The runway regular was threatened with legal action back in October (2018) after she posted an Instagram image of herself that she had found on Twitter.
She removed the snap days later, but it had already been spotted by officials at Xclusive-Lee Inc., who contacted her manager and notified Gigi of their plans to sue for failing to license the image from them first.
Hadid hit back by launching into a tirade online, fuming about the potential lawsuit as she expressed her distress at being constantly hounded by the paparazzi.
Gigi claimed she would have openly credited the snapper had she known "which of the 15+ photographers outside that day took these exact photos" or if they had reached out before taking her to court.
Xclusive-Lee executives have now made good on their lawsuit promise, and are demanding damages for the illegal image use and any profits the model may have made from it.
In their legal papers, obtained by The Blast, they also insist Hadid should have known better as she was previously sued in 2017 for a similar picture rights issue. That case has since been settled.
In addition to damages, the plaintiffs are also seeking an injunction against the model, preventing her from using any of their images ever again.
