Legendary fashion photographer Bruce Weber has been accused of harassing a male model during a photoshoot at his Manhattan studio.
Model Jason Boyce lodged a lawsuit with Manhattan Supreme Court Friday stating that the incident happened in December 2014 when he was 28 and Weber was 68.
Boyce said he was asked to strip, forced to touch his own genitals and Weber put his fingers in Boyce’s mouth.
According to the New York Post, the suit says: ‘Mr Boyce, who had been photographed numerous times in the past, was then subjected to a series of practices by Mr Weber that were unlike any he had experienced previously.’
Model Jason Boyce, seen right, lodged a lawsuit with Manhattan Supreme Court stating that the incident happened in December 2014 when he was 28 and Bruce Weber, seen left, was 68.
After snapping a few photos Weber allegedly said: ‘You’re very tense.’
He then ‘straddled him and rubbed oil onto his forehead’.
He then snapped a few more photos before telling Boyce to remove his clothing at which point Boyce said he froze at the thought of taking off his underwear.
He claims Weber complained of him being ‘tense’ again so reached over and removed the model’s underwear.
The lawsuit continues: ‘Terrified and repulsed, Mr Boyce closed his eyes, hoping Mr Weber would stop.
‘Mr Weber put his fingers in Mr Boyce’s mouth. Shocked, Mr Boyce opened his eyes. Mr Weber told him to keep his eyes closed, and kept his fingers in Mr Boyce’s mouth. ‘If you just had confidence, you’d go really far’, Mr. Weber whispered. ‘How far do you want to make it? How ambitious are you?’ Mr. Boyce did not respond.’
The suit states that Weber then told Boyce to put his underwear back on and that they were ‘done here’ but before the model left he claims Weber grabbed him and ‘kissed him on the lips’.
Boyce says that the next day his agent Jason Kanner of Soul Artist Management asked how it went, and he texted back, ‘weird’.
Kanner replied that he was asking about the photos, not the shoot.
Model Jason Boyce is seen attending the DT Model Management 2 Year Anniversary Celebration on July 24, 2014 at Pump in West Hollywood, California, five months before the alleged incident
Weber is seen at the Green Chimneys Annual Spring Gala at Tappan Hill Mansion on May 20, 2010 in Tarrytown, New York. Boyce said he was asked to strip, forced to touch his own genitals and Weber put his fingers in Boyce’s mouth
Weber is known for his work with Rolling Stone and Vogue magazines and has shot campaigns for brands like Versace and Abercrombie.
In an interview with Huffington Post Live in 2013, he opened up about the time he had to kick Cindy Crawford off of a set.
‘It was on a Revlon shooting, and she was so rude to the whole team and the crew,’ recalled Weber.
According to Weber, the shoot, which took place more than a decade ago, was photographed on-location at a boxing gym in Los Angeles and featured old boxers.
Weber said he had to kick Cindy Crawford off a set for a Revlon shoot more than 10 years ago
Crawford, who ended her contract with Revlon in 2001, apparently told the shoot’s art director, ‘Why is Bruce photographing those old boxers when he would be photographing me? My makeup is ready,’ Weber recalled.
‘[The art director] came and he told me, and I walked up to her and I said, “Did you say that” she said yes,’ he told the online talk show.
Weber told Crawford ‘Get out of here,’ and she left crying. He says that Crawford is ‘the only model I ever sent back.’ He says the two have become friends since the incident.
Earlier this year he snapped model Gigi Hadid for a Versace campaign.
Earlier this year Weber shot Gigi Hadid, seen above for a Versace campaign