The Wrecking Ball singer is the latest celebrity to be sued by notorous paparazzi photographer Robert Barbera
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Wrecking ball singer, Miley Cyrus is the latest celebrity to get caught out by seemingly confusing copyright law. On September 9, 2022, paparazzi photographer Robert Barbera sued the US-based singer for posting a photo to Instagram without his permission.
Celebs getting caught up in copyright infringement lawsuits is nothing new. Back in March, Snoop Dogg proved to the world he didn’t quite get ‘copyrizzle’ after posting a video to Instagram stating, “If you take a photograph of somebody, that picture doesn't actually belong to you. Instead, what you're doing is borrowing that person's likeness”. But Robert Barbera is also very familiar with making claims against celebrities; in the last few years, he has sued some of the biggest names including Ariana Grande, Dua Lipa, and Justin Bieber.
The photo in question was originally taken in 2020 and shows Miley Cyrus leaving a building while waving to her fans - aka Smilers. According to Billboard, Miley Cyrus who currently has 185 million followers, had ‘crippled if not destroyed’ Barbera's ability to make money from the image by posting it to her Instagram.
Billboard has since reported that the pair came to a settlement outside of court and has now been dismissed “with prejudice” which means that Barbera can't file for the same claim again. Copyright claims are often settled out of court, where the payout will be less.
Copyright law is there to protect the photographer but when a photographer is taking a photo without the permission of the subject it does seem a little unjust. Barbera has a lot of practice at this and you can bet that he has made a pretty penny from the celebrities he’s previously sued. I wonder who will be next.
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Having studied Journalism and Public Relations at the University of the West of England Hannah developed a love for photography through a module on photojournalism. She specializes in Portrait, Fashion and lifestyle photography but has more recently branched out in the world of stylized product photography. For the last 3 years Hannah has worked at Wex Photo Video as a Senior Sales Assistant using her experience and knowledge of cameras to help people buy the equipment that is right for them. With 5 years experience working with studio lighting, Hannah has run many successful workshops teaching people how to use different lighting setups.