The lawsuit cites a T-shirt sold on the photographer’s website-which uses Jay’s name, among other rappers he has phototgraphed-and claims “Mannion has developed a business for himself” by selling photograph prints of JAY-Z on his site and “licensing JAY-Z’s image to others.” It also claims he has violated section 3344 of California Civil Code as well as California Common Law Right of Publicity. “It is no secret that JAY-Z has achieved iconic success, not just as a rap artist and record-company mogul, but in numerous other pursuits and as a businessman,” the suit also reads. “It is ironic that a photographer would treat the image of a formerly-unknown Black teenager, now wildly successful, as a piece of property to be squeezed for every dollar it can produce. The suit also claims that Mannion-who has taken “hundreds of photos of Jay-Z since 1996”-is now demanding that Hov pay him “tens of millions of dollars to put an end to Mannion’s use of JAY-Z’s likeness.” Alex Spiro, an attorney for Jay, declined to comment for the story. In documents obtained by Complex, Jay says that Mannion, who shot the now-iconic image on the cover of his debut record, has been selling prints on his website without the rapper’s consent, and earning thousands of dollars from them in the process. Jay-Z is suing a photographer he worked with on one of his most iconic album cover shoots.Īs initially reported Tuesday by TMZ, Hov claims in a new lawsuit that the photographer of the Reasonable Doubt album cover-Jonathan Mannion- is using his name and image without consent. Mannion’s right to sell fine art prints of his copyrighted works, and will review the complaint and respond in due course.” “We are confident that the First Amendment protects Mr. Carter would similarly respect the rights of artists and creators who have helped him achieve the heights to which he has ascended.

Carter and his body of work, and expects that Mr. Carter over the years, and is proud that these images have helped to define the artist that Jay-Z is today. ET: A legal representative for Jonathan Mannion provided Complex with a statement in response to the lawsuit, which you can read in full below.

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