Urban Outfitters Sued Over New Line of Jailbait Casuals
Here's a lawsuit that might leave you scratching your head: The parents of a 15-year-old model were apparently aware that photographer Jason Lee Parry was snapping her around L.A. in March 2010, in a shoot that required her to pose "in a blatantly salacious manner with her legs spread, without a bra, revealing portions of her breasts," according to the filing. Uh, okay. But now they're suing Urban Outfitters — as well as two other retailers, and Parry himself — for putting those images on T-shirts and other merchandise, and selling them in their stores. They're seeking $28 million in damages.
From the lawsuit:
The pictures also show her with beer, riding on a motorcycle without a helmet, and breaking other laws. Other pictures appear to show her pubic hair.
"The image of Teen in a spread eagle position making her crotch area the focal point of the image may portray a child in a sexually suggestive manner and may be in violation of one or more federal and/or state laws," [the lawsuit says.]
This is only now occurring to them? Wouldn't the most appropriate moment to have made that observation (and it's a very accurate one!) been before their 15-year-old daughter spent a day sacrificing her innocence to a Kawasaki in the name of "getting the shot?" I don't know, I'm just spitballing here!
The parents have requested that their daughter's name not be revealed because she's a high-profile model whose "image and identity have been exposed on national TV and in other media to the general public." What a great way to preserve your exploited child's anonymity! "Our daughter is super-famous, so don't tell anyone that we want $28 million because she's all focal-crotched on T-shirts you can buy just about anywhere." Great parenting!
As for the image above, I found it by doing a basic search for "Jason Lee Parry and Urban Outfitters." I don't know for certain that that's the model in question, but it seems to satisfy many of the criteria. [NY Daily News, image via UrbanOutfitters.com]