Cunt of the Week™: Terry Richardson
I’ve hated this cunt since the first time I laid eyes on him. I didn’t have to hear a model’s confession about his behavior to know how unsavory a creature he is. He adopts the look of a shady pervert and clearly revels in it. Think how funny it must seem to him! “I look like a disgusting scumbag, AND THE JOKE IS THAT I AM ONE!” Haha, Terry, we get it.
Every time I’ve seen his name on a fashion layout that crosses the line into soft porn, I’ve felt vaguely soiled. Now it’s good to know that he’s widely hated.
On his website, he has posted a terse little note of self-pity. His feelings are hurt, he says. Elsewhere on the world wide web you can find some commentary that goes like this: Big deal, everyone knows that Terry likes to get it on with models. That’s business as usual.
What?!? This fucker is a blight on the civilized world. I don’t want to hear one more word about his huge penis or how often he waves it around. I’m sorry that he has defenders, because some things are indefensible. He uses his power to molest and humiliate models who believe this is the price they must pay to get work. No one is there to protect them or back them up. Not Vogue, Rolling Stone, GQ, not the agencies, nobody.
I know I’m probably preaching to the choir here. But if you really hate this cunt and you want to make a difference, why not send an email to the CEO of Conde Nast Publications Inc? Here’s what I wrote to charles_townsend@condenast.com:
Dear Mr. Townsend,
As a longtime reader of Vogue and W, I am disturbed by the unprofessional and in some cases criminal behavior of the photographer Terry Richardson. I urge you to stop publishing the work of this sexually predatory individual at once. Fashion should not be tainted by the abuse of models, and consumers don’t want to be a part of such practices. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this matter.
Yours truly,
Sister Wolf
~
It feels good to write to a CEO! Let’s see what happens.
March 22nd, 2010 at 12:51 am
Let us just refer to the fishfuck as
Cunt of the Universe.
When I was a model I ran into fucks like this fuckhead.
This shit enrages me to the point where
my skin is leaping off my body.
FUCKHEAD FUCKHEAD FUCKHEAD CUNT MOTHERFUCKER!!!!!!!!
WRITE THOSE LETTERS!!!!!!!
XuXu
http://www.frenchshelter.blogspot.com
March 22nd, 2010 at 1:05 am
Fucking right, Sister Wolf! For me it was hate at first sight – one look at the sweaty cunt was enough to raise the hackles. Why does ANYONE like him? Time and again people say he’s ‘edgy’ or some other fucking meaningless crap, but he’s just a human turd and needs to be flushed away tout de suite!
March 22nd, 2010 at 1:17 am
Yuk! Soiled and you are so right. I like to think it not preaching to the choir but hitting the high notes so the choir gets heard. the soft porn shit peddled everywhere in ‘high fashion’ magazines is becoming ubiquitous dullness. But the real point is the criminal act it is – unquestioned, unchallenged and thank goodness you are around to identify these c’s.
March 22nd, 2010 at 1:39 am
Hello,
I’ve been waiting for you to blog about Ole Terry.
I certainly wouldn’t want him hovering over me sans clothing with a camera.
Good for you writing to Conde Nast-let us know if you get a response.
March 22nd, 2010 at 2:29 am
i feel violently sick
March 22nd, 2010 at 2:49 am
I read that article too, and felt sick. Please post the reply email when you receive it!
March 22nd, 2010 at 2:59 am
Slime of the worst kind. I hate a manipulative fucker that preys on the weak.
March 22nd, 2010 at 3:00 am
Oh Shit! This is what I got back from my email to charles_townsend@condenast.com.
Me:
Mr Townsend:
By paying Terry Richardson to be a sexual predator, you are implicated in his behavior.
Would you, Mr Townsend, let your daughter participate in a photo-shoot with such a distorted and immature person? If not, perhaps you should examine your
professional practices that are shuttling girls down a long hall way to hell with
such a desperate and vile human.
I appreciate your consideration in this matter,
and, also, await your public comment.
Yours truly,
HIS RESPONSE:
I am embarrassed to admit I have no idea who Terry Richardson is. On the other hand, I wouldn’t let my daughters model for anyone, would you? What’s that professional all about, as you say?
Yours truly, C. Townsend
HOLY SHIT:
RESPONSE IN NEED TO BE CRAFTED!!!!
XuXu
http://www.frenchshelter.blogspot.com
March 22nd, 2010 at 3:10 am
!!!!!!!!!!!!!FUCKING CUNT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I had a hard time reading that shit.
March 22nd, 2010 at 5:22 am
Frankly, I don’t give a damn about the naked pictures, he can take them (with willing, enthusiastic models who are over the age of consent) all day if he likes. What I do strongly object to, however, is the fact that he gets to demand sexual favours (he says request, I say bullshit) from people who are very likely to be in no position to say no because his criteria for working with them depend on whether they’ll do what he wants. And consent from a girl to pose with her clothes off does NOT equal consent to give someone a hand job/BJ. The worst of it is the bloody corporate elements that endorse this behaviour by hiring him, and the fashion powers-that-be that let this slide. I don’t deny that the man can take good pictures sometimes- I loved the ones he took of President Obama,and some of his editorial work is lovely- but none of that excuses thus cuntishness.
The following anecdote isn’t about him, but at least one fairly successful model – Cameron Russell- once went on the record to say that her agency pressured her to sleep with a photographer when she was sixteen. It’s not necessarily TR, but it’s just so sad that things like this happen, hopefully this isn’t just going to slide like Kate Moss’s cocaine rumours (and heck, at least she never hurt anyone else- not that we hear of, anyway). Good on you for going the first step towards raising a stink, Sister.
PS: Have you heard of Picture Me? It’s a documentary about models by a former model who’s now at Columbia, and there are multiple sad-making stories like the one above, in it. It got lost in all the flash and bang of The September Issue, but I believe it’s worth seeing.
March 22nd, 2010 at 5:27 am
And given that he is apparently not the only photographer in the industry who gets to do this, the above rant could apply to any dickweed with a camera who gets to molest girls because of it. I’m all in favour of consensual sexual relationships between a model and photographer if one does happen, not for getting blown/jerked off/getting to feel up a girl only because you decide those are the criteria for her getting photographed.
March 22nd, 2010 at 5:31 am
He’s just another Roaming Polanski. Forgiven for fashion.
March 22nd, 2010 at 5:37 am
You hit all the high notes in this post and in your letter to the CEO of Conde Nast. Too bad his work is also published in magazines that are not part of the Conde Nast empire. But it is a start. I plan on adding my voice to the protest. As the mother of a strikingly beautiful daughter in her 20s who was asked to model when she was younger when I was the boss of her, I am so glad that I decided not to let her model. I wonder how all the parents of these underage girls who were subjected to his disgustingness feel, let alone how it has affected the girls themselves. It’s like the old Hollywood casting couch. As I said before in one of my comments, whenever I see him biking around NY, I feel like I need to take a shower. He has such a pervy look about him. His pictures of himself that he posts with his thumbs up just reinforce his pervyness. They seem, to me, to be saying “hehehe, I got away with it again. What a racket I’ve got!” And getting the magazines to boycott him is only half of it- there may be criminal charges there- molestation, statutory rape, etc. It will be interesting to see if any of that comes to fruition.
Also, have you seen pictures of his best friend and comrade in arms, the French editor of Purple magazine, Olivier Zahm? Google him at your own risk. He looks even more dirty than Richardson. And his views on women and sex might be even more repellant. eeewww!!!!
March 22nd, 2010 at 5:57 am
Also: I wrote to the CEO too! Feels good to complain.
March 22nd, 2010 at 6:02 am
Andrea, in all fairness I don’t know of any actual minors who got subjected to his sleazy side, I’ve been reading this stuff for a week and everyone complaining seems to have been at least 18 at the time. The fact that they were legally adults doesn’t make it less nasty, though, and if someone does decide to sue for sexual harassment this shit would qualify.
He can look as skeevy as he likes, he just shouldn’t bloody behave like one. And hark at all the stupid hipsters rising to his defence, I didn’t know molestation was the new underground trend or whatever.
March 22nd, 2010 at 6:42 am
here’s my letter to CEO townsend-
Dear Mr. Townsend,
Being in the media part of the fashion industry as a CEO, I am sure that you are aware of the many facets of what happens to get a story in print. Last week, a former model came forward to tell of the sexual harassment/criminal behavior that she was forced to endure while she was in Terry Richardson’s studio being photographed. Here is one of many links to the story http://thefashpack.onsugar.com/Terry-Richardson-Comes-Under-Fire-From-Yet-Another-Model-7797665 . If you follow this link, it will take you to other links regarding Mr. Richardson, and I am sure you will be repelled.
I can remember getting my first Vogue subscription in my 20s, and being subscribed ever since. I went to elementary school with Steven Meisel, and enjoyed tracking his career through Vogue. I am also the mother of a strikingly beautiful daughter who was asked to model when she was a minor. I am so glad that I decided that was not the way for her to go with her life. It is too much of a coincidence for so many young models to come up with stories about him that are so similar.
While I am not an industry insider, it is not difficult to see that there is a dynamic between magazine, aspiring young model, and photographer. If the photographer likes the model, he can “make” her career, much like Steven Meisel did for Linda Evangelista and Karen Elson. Throw a heterosexual photographer who is unprofessional into the mix, and it is easy to see that the situation can be ripe for exploitation. Mr. Richardson holds a lot of power over these girls. They want to be in the business so badly, that they will do just about anything, even if it is not what they want to do. From what I have read, there are many young models who were subjected to this power play, but they never told. Much like many victims of rape, they felt violated but never spoke up for fear of hurting their budding careers. There are also overage models who may have consented with the implicit understanding that she “had to do it” if she wanted to make it. It seems to me that there may be criminal behavior in these situations as well.
As the CEO of Conde Nast, I urge you to take a stand and issue an order to your editors to boycott Terry Richardon. Please do not use his photos in any of your magazines. By sending work his way, you are just as guilty of these crimes as he is. I have also read that many in the industry know about Terry, but have turned a blind eye. Now is the time to stop enabling him. I still have my subscriptions (to Vogue, Allure, and Lucky), because I have faith that you will do the right thing. And I do hope that the DA in New York will investigate and file criminal charges against him. Hopefully, more models will come forward with their stories.
Please take a stand on this very important issue! It may actually work in Conde Nast’s favor- publicizing boycotting Terry Richardson might just attract more readers and boost newsstand sales.
Best Regards,
March 22nd, 2010 at 7:37 am
Got an answer from “Chuck” Townsend-
Thank you, Andrea. I’ve received more email on the subject this morning than I can read, unfortunately. I have forwarded it to our fashion people here. They make the creative decisions. I’m appalled at what I have read. Respectfully, C. Townsend
That’s a start.
March 22nd, 2010 at 7:53 am
Word Up!!!!
XuXu
March 22nd, 2010 at 8:24 am
I don’t know, I really like his photos. I realize he is probably a huge pervert, but it’s not like he’s abducting women and forcing them to pose naked. Is it unethical to bone your models, underage or otherwise? Yeah, probably, but I just can’t get riled up over it, as I don’t look at all women as delicate, vulnerable creatures.
March 22nd, 2010 at 8:38 am
@mutterhals-
you are entitled to your opinion, but what he is doing reeks of something worse than unethical, it is possibly criminal. (I am not a lawyer, but I am related to one and we have discussed this issue.)
March 22nd, 2010 at 8:51 am
He’s gross. Like, really, really, REALLY gross. I couldn’t even imagine doing anything vaguely sexual with or around him. I mean, HE’S GROSS!
March 22nd, 2010 at 9:03 am
Hell ya. Great post Sister, and great email.
♥
March 22nd, 2010 at 9:37 am
Sleazy cunt!
March 22nd, 2010 at 9:59 am
Ha ha haaaaaaaa… Yeah, seems like a real dooshy doosh. Never heard of him, though. Hey, can the House Republicans be next week’s Cunt?
March 22nd, 2010 at 10:15 am
He is welcome to sweatily and revoltingly fuck what ever women or man agrees to it… but that agreement can not come because she feels she needs to do it for a job. That is against the law.
March 22nd, 2010 at 10:18 am
Or waggle his wang around in such a way as it makes for an unleasant work environment. Although a normal person sees these things as just manners and hygiene, for those who understand neither of these things there are laws. His acts are against the law. And if i get a ticket for running an orange light at 6 am on a BICYCLE…. he can get busted for being a harasser.
March 22nd, 2010 at 10:20 am
Andrea’s letter and response is wonderful – yah to Sister Wolf xx
March 22nd, 2010 at 10:29 am
No excuse to treat women like objects. It’s a shame that these women didn’t realize thwy don’t have to do these things or see that he is plainly gross. You can tell from looking at him that he is a total perv. I couldn’t imagine dropping drwers for him for any reason. EWW!!
March 22nd, 2010 at 10:34 am
1) I’ll e-mail Townsend from home.
2) I can’t believe the response that Xuxu received. It’s totally fucked!
3) I’m typing out loud again, but I wonder if WE stopped paying homage to the gods of eternal youth, fads, trends, baubles, & overpriced fashion would WE be less responsible when shit like this hits the net (I mean don’t we all know subconsciously that this goes on, and has gone on, and will go on)? It doesn’t matter what we say with our keyboards as much as what we say with our dollars. If we send e-mails in protest but keep buying the rags that buy from Richardson we are talking through our hats, or am I totally off my rocker?
4) Personally, I don’t care how old a person is if he or she is coerced into doing something that he or she doesn’t want to do in order to not get “black listed” or lose out on career opportunities; it’s still sleazy, opportunistic, cunty, & illegal. Consenting sex is not always “consenting” just because the over-18-year old submits.
5) From models, to factory workers, to child labor there has always been a dark side to fashion. Thanks for enlightening Sister Wolf!!!
March 22nd, 2010 at 1:13 pm
Weird. I was reading about him today, too, and I ended up on his Tumblr.com website, Terry’s Diary. (http://www.terrysdiary.com/)
Could he look/be any sleazier?
March 22nd, 2010 at 1:35 pm
what a fuckin creep.
March 22nd, 2010 at 3:24 pm
GOOD FOR YOU!! I’ve often thought about doing that.
March 22nd, 2010 at 3:42 pm
That’s some CREEPY creep! I’m going to write a letter too…
March 22nd, 2010 at 4:24 pm
That’s a great letter that people should use as their template. Also, why does Mr. Towsend write as if he’s in 2nd grade?
March 22nd, 2010 at 9:32 pm
he’s discusting! his photograpghy is just nasty. its one thing to expose the naked body, buts its another thing to exploit it. and thats what he does. he obssesed with pornogrpaghy. every since i saw a photograpgh a some girls vagina, i questioned his morals!
Right on!!!!
and to think he worked with Obama !!! ahhhhh
March 22nd, 2010 at 11:39 pm
Guys, guys, guys, have none of you ever met ‘the aspiring model’ she’s the bitch you remember was so mean to you… she’s the one who uses men to make something of herself because she inherently hates other women and doesn’t believe there’s another way.. and then cries about getting used… it’s nt the stupid guys we need to watch…. equality has a long way to go in your minds my hysterical sisters…
March 23rd, 2010 at 6:52 am
@claire – Actually, equality has a long way to go in YOUR mind. If you are a woman, claire, I would have to nominate you for “Cunt of the Week”. Why? Because only cunts would think any woman, whether she is a “mean bitch” or “uses men” or not, deserves to be treated in such a criminal way. The “aspiring model” is not the only one that hates women; you seem to have misogynistic-leaning tendencies.
March 23rd, 2010 at 8:20 am
Ok, so the one getting ‘used’ is the powerful photographer who, in his own words:
“……Or maybe it’s the psychological thing that I was a shy kid, and now I’m this powerful guy with his boner, dominating all these girls. In a way, that’s the very stuff I’m trying to work out in the work.”
Real classy, Claire. I think you should meet my mother. you might get along beautifully with each other.
March 23rd, 2010 at 8:22 am
I apologise for the wonky capitalisation and missing verb in the last comment. My computer is being funny.
March 23rd, 2010 at 8:32 am
Also, mutterhals- it’s definitely illegal to ‘bone’ a model who is under the age of consent, and even if she was and the photographer told her she had to blow him in order for him to work with her, hell yes that’s illegal too. It’s called sexual harassment,and I do not give a fuck if it’s trendy.
March 23rd, 2010 at 11:52 am
If that piece of crap wants sex and does not find women mentally sane that want to practice it with him (which would not be a great surprise, after seing his complete lack of sexappeal), there are professionals that for a fare would do it. No need to play with feelings and fears of models.
Sorry if anybody gets upset by this coment, here prostitution is not ilegal, and I respect it as a job if a woman does it freely.
This has reached already Spanish newspapers, I don´t know if has reached any other press out of UK.
March 24th, 2010 at 7:33 am
Dru:
Calm down, ass, I made my point with being combative or rude, why don’t you try to do the same? I object to the idea that every woman is a doe eyed little child being led around by every penis she comes across, that’s my point. I don’t immediately jump to the defense of the woman because I don’t believe that all women are incapable of defending themselves.
March 24th, 2010 at 2:18 pm
that’s so great this campaign is working! and can’t believe chuck wouldn’t let his daughters model, yet that’s how he makes his money. it’s like those senators who voted for the war in iraq but wouldn’t sign their kids up for the military.
i’m not surprised by any of this terry richardson ordeal…but like i commented on another blog; i think the real reason why people are so upset, because most women can relate to a point in their lives where they were taken advantage of in this way, sure it may not be some top fashion photographer and we may not be models, but most women have experienced men crossing the line and not been able to say anything out of fear of sounding crazy, being a killjoy, or losing an opportunity.
it’s complicated, and i can see how some people think we’re overreacting, but something inside me says we aren’t reacting enough.
March 24th, 2010 at 3:08 pm
mutterhals – Hey, fuck you, don’t call Dru an ass. Call “Claire” an ass!
jennine – EXACTLY right about the “resonance” factor. Maybe the younger generation has not experienced so much of what you’re talking about. But I know I have. I look back in horror….
You being up an excellent topic worthy of a separate and longer discussion. xo
March 28th, 2010 at 9:30 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Leslie Cohen, Leslie Cohen. Leslie Cohen said: @nodiscout http://www.godammit.com/2010/03/22/cunt-of-the-week™-terry-richardson/ I new it.. Terry Richardson is a fuckin pedo [...]
June 19th, 2010 at 9:41 pm
I really appreciate your attention to this matter concerning Terry Richardson. This kind of behavior has got to stop. I wish there was more that we can do than email people about it but that’s what we have for now, so we should do just that. I’ll do the same and hopefully our comments will sink in with the people who work with Richardson. I thoroughly despise anyone who objectifies and makes anyone (man or woman) a victim. This is deviant behavior. We wouldn’t allow this behavior to happen in our communities. Why on a large scale in the fashion industry. What Richardson produces is not art. You can quote me on that and I can defend it with examples and evidence until I cannot type or talk anymore.
June 19th, 2010 at 9:45 pm
Also, do everyone a favor and stand up to this kind of behavior if you ever see it. This is off subject, but still in a similar category… Take a look at this website and post it wherever you can on the internet. People should know about this stuff that Sharon has to say and the stories of people who have been made victims.
(((((( http://www.watchyourdrink.com/your-stories.php )))))))
October 20th, 2010 at 2:45 am
Obviously because all of you ladies writing on a message board online is going to stop Terry Richardson from taking photos.
I hate you guys.
November 2nd, 2010 at 11:56 pm
Seinfield,cosby,friends,cheers,fraser,madmen.
November 2nd, 2010 at 11:56 pm
Have you ever considered adding more videos in your blog posts so readers enjoy more than this I mean I read all your posts and it was quite good , but I learn from images, we found very useful notifications. from my site that’s hotel riccione 1 stella we know that it will be a smashup !
March 30th, 2011 at 1:45 pm
I thought you might want to read this :
http://blog.felicefawn.com/post/4215484321/acquaintance-with-terry-richardson
Ugh, if this is true (she told me he talked to her through his real facebook, and with the email address linked to his website), he really needs counselling. What a sick perv. And what a pity that most people in the fashion industry worship him like he’s some kind of god.
Thought maybe you needed a cunt to take your mind off things !
xx
March 31st, 2011 at 3:36 pm
She deleted it so I thought I’d repost a link that works : http://executions.tumblr.com/post/4244539204
June 12th, 2011 at 7:41 am
the guy is a scumbag. im also a pro photographer and the way agencies send girls to him in droves despite knowing hes a total pervert cunt makes me sick. bookers are morons sometimes. you have to wonder if they would send their daughters to him too, or if its just something they are prepared to do with other peoples kids? good on ya for writing this blog post.
October 16th, 2011 at 3:59 pm
Soo anywho, its not so much that I am filled with righteous indignation for the acts of Terry Richardson,It has more to do with the fact hat this self exalted turd feels that because he happened to be spat out of a particular crotch that was inseminated by a influential sperm donor, he has the right to ruin the solitude of my Saturday morning. It was always me, coffee and an issue of Bazzar. I just wanted to relax, forget the putrid vile of my workweek and check out some cute clothes. Not anymore. Now, while flipping through the pages of Bazzar I have begun to notice the subtle terror and the urge to puke written across the faces of the models he photographs (and by photographs I mean the God like skill needed to point a camera at a subject and push a button). Tom Ford spoke of him as beyond reproach and Anna Wintour feels the same, however, I beginning to feel that all of these characters are nothing more than fart in the wind. Who the fuck are you without our watchful eyes anyway? Perhaps its the unfortunate power of the internet that makes these people smaller and smaller, or its the realization that I am being pressured to buy disposable clothes that I don’t need and often don’t want in order for them to maintain your status, but as time goes on, the Emperor has less and less clothes. You were a gnat on my morning Bazzar and now I will flick you into oblivion Terry Richardson. After 6 years of devoted subscription, I cancelled Bazaar. Fuck You.