Ariana Grande may be learning the hard way that photographers don’t give away their product for free. Grande is being sued by photographer Robert Barbera, who claims that Grande posted two pictures he took of her without his permission or paying him for the use, according to TMZ.
The photos have apparently been deleted but TMZ is running them.
Grande has 154 million followers on Instagram and the photos have received nearly 3.4 million likes.
Barbera is asking for either the profits she earned from the photos or $25,000 for each of the two, whichever is greater, according to TMZ.
Grande recently issued strict rules for outside photographers at her Sweetener world tour, issuing contracts requiring photographers to hand over all rights to their photos to her company, GrandAriTour.
Sixteen media outlets, including the AP, New York Times, LA Times and 12 others – have joined the National Press Photographers Association, officially protested the requirements.