The Cost Of Being Famous: Naomi Watts Slapped With $150K Federal Lawsuit Over Instagram Post
Sept. 24 2021, Published 4:04 p.m. ET
Naomi Watts is being taken to federal court by an artist who claims she screwed him over.
According to court documents obtained by Radar, a photographer named Banjo McLachlan is suing the actress for copyright infringement.
In the suit, McLachlan says he is a paparazzi who shoots photos of celebrities on the street to sell, which is how he makes a living. The man says he has invested a ton of time and money in building up his portfolio and protects his rights by obtaining copyrights for his work.
He says Naomi decided to screw him over by posting two photos he took of her on her Instagram. The first incident happened after he caught Naomi out on July 7.
He claims photos from that set, which he sold, ended up on her Instagram account only days later. In one shot, Naomi is seen on the beach holding a plastic cup while staring into the sky.
She captioned the post, “When Karen runs out of rosé.” The photo appears to have been taken on a film set. Despite the legal action, the post still remains active on her account.
McLachlan says he caught the actress out and about again on July 23. He sold off those photos but accuses Naomi of using them on her Instagram on August 7.
The second photo appears to have been removed from her account. The paparazzi is furious that she used his work without permission or paying him a dime.
“The Infringements are an exact copy of the entirety of Plaintiff's original images that were directly copied and stored by Defendant on the Account," the suit reads.
McLachlan is demanding the court award him $150,000 per infringement for a total of $300k in damages. Naomi has yet to respond to the allegations in court.
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The suit is the latest in a string of lawsuits filed against celebrities for using paparazzi photos. NFL star Odell Beckham Jr. was one of the few to fight back claiming photo agencies were actively extorting famous people over social media posts.
