Ariana Grande is being sued in Manhattan federal court over photos she posted on Instagram to promote her “Sweetener” album.
New York-based photographer Robert Barbera claims the 25-year-old pop princess violated copyright laws by posting two photos he took of her to her Instagram account Aug. 17, 2018, the day her album was released.
The snaps show the “Thank u, next” singer strolling out of a building carrying a bag that read “Sweetener.”
Two of the photos were then shared on Grande’s official Instagram account Aug. 17, the day Grande released her album Sweetener. “Happy sweetener day,” she wrote in the caption.
They racked up more than 3,390,000 likes.
“[Grande] infringed [Barbera’s] copyright in the Photographs by reproducing and publicly displaying the Photographs on the Instagram Page,” he wrote in his lawsuit. “[Grande] is not, and has never been, licensed or otherwise authorized to reproduce, publically display, distribute and/or use the Photographs.”
Barbera is suing for either the profits Grande earned from the photos or $25,000 for each pic.
This is the fourth time within the past month that a photographer has sued for copyright infringement in Manhattan federal court. Other defendants include fashion brands Versace and Jordache and CBS Interactive.
Last year, supermodel Gigi Hadid was sued in New York for copyright infringement for a since-deleted paparazzi photo of herself that she had posted to Instagram.
Kim Kardashian West, Jennifer Lopez, 50 Cent, and Jessica Simpson have also been impacted.
Paparazzi photographers have seen their profits sink since the advent of social media, which has allowed celebrities to take control of their image and share their own photos with fans.