On Tuesday, controversial photographer Terry Richardson’s career took a major — and many would say long overdue — hit with news that Conde Nast International banned him from their magazines due to countless sexual coercion allegations against him. This decision meant that Richardson’s porny, against-a-white-wall aesthetic would no longer grace the likes of GQ and Vogue. And Uncle Terry is really feeling the consequences now, for brands are scrambling to follow Conde Nast’s example by cutting ties with him.
Among them are prominent fashion houses like Valentino, which told the Hollywood Reporter that their last campaign shot by Richardson happened in July. Further, “[T]here are no plans on a future campaign and [we] of course take these allegations against Terry Richardson seriously.” Bulgari, which hired Richardson for an autumn 2017 campaign, has joined in the exodus while providing a similarly worded statement to The Guardian. And the Daily Beast adds that the Diesel brand has confirmed the same.
Following the Conde Nast declaration, Richardson’s spokesperson claimed that all of his subjects “participated consensually” in the acts that they alleged against him. Here’s the widely circulated statement:
“Terry is disappointed to hear about this email especially because he has previously addressed these old stories. He is an artist who has been known for his sexually explicit work so many of his professional interactions with subjects were sexual and explicit in nature, but all of the subjects of his work participated consensually.”
Meanwhile, folks have noted how shady it looks for the fashion industry to finally take action against Richardson amid continuing sexual harassment allegations against Harvey Weinstein. After all, the stories about Richardson’s alleged sexual coercion of models have run rampant for years and are the stuff of disgusting legend, yet the industry never took action until public pressure practically demanded it.