Dua Lipa is reportedly being sued a second time for sharing a paparazzi photo of herself on social media.
The lawsuit was filed on June 20 in California by New York-based photographer Robert Barbera, Billboard reports. The photographer alleges that Dua Lipa has infringed his copyright by posting photos that he snapped of her in July 2018 to Instagram.
The alleged photo – which can no longer be found on the singer’s social media profile – is said to depict the artist sporting a black sweater with the words “HEROES” printed on it.
An excerpt of the complaint obtained by Billboard claims: “Without permission or authorization from Plaintiff, Defendant volitionally selected, copied, stored and displayed each of Plaintiff’s copyright protected Photographs.”
Barbera is reportedly seeking damages and penalties from the profits Lipa could have made with the photograph on Instagram, on which she advertises her music, brand and business interests.
Barbera also claims that he attempted to settle the matter with Lipa outside of court. After the singer received a draft of the complaint, communication reportedly “slowed and eventually stopped”, he alleges. The images in question were also removed from her account.
NME has reached out to representatives for Dua Lipa for comment.
The new lawsuit is the second Lipa has faced in a year for sharing paparazzi photos of herself on social media. In July last year, she was sued by Integral Images for copyright infringement. The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed with prejudice in October.
Barbera has also filed similar lawsuits against other pop stars, including Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber in the past. Barbera attempted to sue Grande twice – in May 2019 and January 2020 – for claims that she had shared paparazzi photos on Instagram. Both cases were dismissed. The lawsuit against Bieber was reportedly settled out of court.
