A model who claims Terry Richardson drugged and sexually abused her and then included pictures of the assaults in his art book and exhibitions is suing the fashion photographer.
In court documents, model Minerva Portillo claimed that Richardson had given her a “narcotic” drink in 2004 and had taken her picture while pressuring her to “perform oral sex” on him.
Richardson allegedly did the same thing to the Spanish model during a second photo shoot the next day.
The images from the assaults, according to Portillo, were used in his “Terryworld” show and art book “Kibosh,” which helped make Richardson famous. However, in 2017, the fashion industry fired Richardson after several models accused him of rape and sexual abuse.
One day prior to the deadline for submitting claims under the Adult Survivors Act of the state, Portillo filed a lawsuit in New York City.
Axl Rose and Cuba Gooding Jr. are two other men who have been charged in the past 24 hours under a New York provision that allows for previous accusations to be brought outside of the statute of limitations.
Portillo, who has modelled for Marc Jacobs and Gucci and been featured in Vogue and Elle, says the attacks happened when she was 22 years old.
She had just flown into the US from Spain and was scheduled to shoot a scene with the now-58-year-old Richardson, according to the suit.
Portillo, 42, says she was offered cocaine and a drink when she arrived at Richardson’s studio.
The drink contained “an intoxicating or narcotic substance she had not consented to taking,” according to court documents, but she refused the drugs.
It started to seem that Portillo was “not fully in control of her body, dizzy, and disoriented.”
According to the lawsuit, Richardson started taking off her top and groping her breasts when nine workers showed up on the set.
Then, according to reports, he forced her to her knees by pressing his penis on her buttocks.
According to the lawsuit: “He put his penis on her mouth and in her face. He forced his penis into her mouth and gave her the instruction to have oral sex with him.”
Richardson’s staff was “cheering” at Portillo when she complained, and he allegedly kept her head in position.
Afterwards, despite the fact that the images did show sexually explicit action, Portillo was made to sign a paper that stated as much.
The next day, according to Portillo, Richardson made her give him oral sex in a truck and her modelling agency made her perform another session.
The photos of Portillo being sexually attacked were displayed at the Jeffrey Deitch gallery in addition to being included in the book and exhibitions. The suit says.
Portillo also sued Trump Model Management, former President Donald Trump’s modeling business, which was shut down in 2017, and his company DJT Holdings.
Trump Model Management booked Portillo for the Richardson shoot, the suit says.
The high-profile photographer was a regular in Hollywood circles including the 2014 Vanity Fair Oscars party until allegations of sexual misconduct in 2017 prompted major publishers and advertisers to drop him.
During a pre-shoot meeting with Richardson, he only wore a bathrobe, but when she raised this with Trump Model Management, she was brushed off, the court papers allege.
The agency allegedly told her that Richardson’s “behavior was commonplace and that given Mr. Richardson’s prominence and influence in the industry, Ms. Portillo should overlook his behavior.”
Portillo is seeking unspecified damages for battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress against Richardson and for negligence against the Trump companies.
She is being represented by Sanford Heisler Sharp, the law firm which previously represented Chase Robinson, Robert De Niro’s personal assistant.
Robinson won $1.2 million from the actor earlier this month after an explosive gender discrimination trial in which she alleged he turned her into his “office wife.”