Kanye West is being sued by a photographer after he allegedly grabbed her phone and threw it into the street. According to the lawsuit, West grabbed the phone when he saw the paparazzo filming him and subsequently threw it into oncoming traffic.
The incident occurred in late January when West’s child was playing in a sports game at their school. The photographer, Nichol Lechmanik, recorded a video clip of an altercation between West and another photographer.
Lechmanik was apparently waiting outside the school to photograph West’s ex-wife, Kim Kardashian. According to the lawsuit, which was obtained by TMZ, several paparazzi were driving past when Lechmanik noticed West get out of a car.
West appeared to confront another photographer, which was captured on video. Lechmanik states that West appeared angry, and she was afraid he might hurt the other photographer. She also said that she felt unsafe as he approached her car. Lechmanik’s business partner filmed the encounter from the passenger seat.
In the clip, which was shared by TMZ, Kanye can be heard telling Lechmanik to stop filming, saying, “You didn’t have to run up on me like that. If I say stop, stop with your cameras.” He then grabs Lechmanik’s phone and throws it into the road in the path of oncoming traffic.
According to TMZ, the phone only suffered minor cosmetic damage to the case, and Lechmanik did not press charges at the time. Now she is claiming that the altercation left her traumatized, humiliated, and led to a loss of earnings as she felt unable to work afterwards. Lechmanik is suing West on allegations of assault, battery, negligence and a violation of her civil rights.
“We are legit journalists. I’ve never had any other incident happen like this with any other celebrity,” Lechmanik said. “We are mindful. We care about celebrities. We’re always concerned about their well-being. I would never do any harm to anyone.”
I’m not convinced that all paparazzi truly care about their subject’s well-being. The tension between the paparazzi and celebrities is as old as time, with the celebrities resentful for the lack of privacy while the photographers argue that they benefit from the exposure. It is a uniquely symbiotic, though toxic, relationship.
This latest lawsuit comes amid a growing trend of photographers suing the celebrities they photograph for various infractions. The most common ones are copyright infringement and posting photos to social media without permission.
[Image Credit: Rodrigo Ferrari, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons]
[Via LA Times]
FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!