Terry Richardson has been accused, many times, of sexually assaulting models during photo shoots. Several have come forward to say that Richardson would make inappropriate advances, while the models felt pressured to take nude photos and perform sexual acts on Richardson during photo shoots. His female assistant seemed to play a role in it all as well.
He says there is no truth to the allegations, but when so many have told variations of the same story, there's got to be some truth to them. Now, after having worked with Richardson on several campaigns in the last few years, Aldo Shoes has decided to cut all ties with the photographer.
"[We] are not currently working with Terry Richardson and we have no plan to work with him in the future," said Aldo Group PR director Wendie Godbout.
This decision is very recent, since Richardson was involved in Aldo's spring/summer 2014 campaign. He has worked on at least nine Aldo campaigns in total, since 2010.
Aldo joins other brands like Target and H&M who have already begun distancing themselves from Richardson. And for good reason. At least 12 women have made allegations toward Richardson in the last four years. They all have different but similar stories, all pointing to the same conclusion — that Richardson takes advantage of his situation by trying to coerce lesser known models into performing sexual acts in front of a camera.
Richardson has referred to these allegations as “vicious and distorted, moving outside the realm of critical dialogue and becoming nothing more than an emotionally-charged witch hunt.” He has never actually been charged with a crime.
Magazines like Vogue, T and W have also made comments implying that they would not be working with Richardson again.
