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Ariana Grande Hit With A Lawsuit After Posting Photos Of Herself On Instagram
A social media post published more than six months ago is causing trouble for Grande.
Ariana Grande is facing a legal battle over copyright infringement after posting photos of herself on Instagram that a photographer has claimed she had no legal right to share.
The photographer in question, Robert Barbera, filed a suit Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York naming Grande and her company, Grandari, NBC News reports. Barbera claims in his suit that Grande infringed on his copyrights by posting two of his photos to her Instagram account in August and doing so without his permission, even though he is “the sole owner of all right, title and interest in and to the photographs,” the outlet reports.
The photos, which have since been deleted from Grande’s page, showed the 25-year-old singer carrying a transparent bag with the word “Sweetener” — the name of her fourth album — on it, according to NBC News’ report.
The post likely coincided with the release of the album, as Grande reportedly wrote in the caption, “happy sweetener day.”
Grande, Barbera has claimed, did not have “permission or consent to publish the photographs,” E! News reports. As such, he is seeking up to $25,000 in damages for each offense, as well as attorney fees, according to the outlet.
Barbera is also willing to accept a monetary amount equal to what Grande made from posting the photos on her Instagram, according to NBC News.
Grande received upwards of 3 million likes on the photos before the post was removed, E! News reports.
She has yet to comment publicly on the suit, and did not return NBC's request for comment.
