yeah oliver, um i think the finger pointers did suck his cock, in an uncomfortable situation, hence the pointing. i bet you think the whole polanski thing is “not a big deal” too.

Well if they did, rapture, it was done by their own free will. And Roman Polanski's case deals with sexual assault, so unless you want to let us in on something we don't know, let's not go there.

freak…it's unbeliveble how he can act:))you'd think he's a professional actor

i get what you're saying oliver, but the thing is, when the power dynamic is abused/exploited with people much younger than you, it's still wrong even if it's technically legal. a lot of models come to this country (since a lot of them are not from the US) with a lot of other people's expectations on their shoulders, and they certainly don't want to “fucking everything up” with a “major photographer” and i'm sure they have to ask themselves some pretty disturbing questions about their priorities and fears that most of us are lucky enough to never have to wonder about, especially while standing in front of a naked/aggressive man with a full staff touting his support from behind, acting like everything is as normal as can be. all the stories about what happened include the same thing: being egged on (read: inappropriately pressured, in the work place no less) in an environment that completely disorients you, and purposely so. is this illegal? no, not unless there are young girls. is it ok? no, it's not ok either. the stories on jezebel were shocking, especially the one with the girl involving her face… if all that stuff happened, then it's a horrible, fucked up, disillusioning world that we're all protecting by acting like we don't know exactly what the hell is going on. also, i just want to add that i'm not really convinced in any way by abbey lee's quote. people like terry richardson are her bread and butter, and you'd be asking her to talk shit about her own job and existence by expecting a real answer from her anyway.

Look at his diary. The pictures say it all. He is sleazy and is obsessed with sex. He is in the unique postition where he has power of the young girls he photographs. They want to make it in the modeling/fashion world and hope that maybe he can help them. They are very vulnerable. Whenever I see him around Manhattan, I feel like I need to take a shower. He looks so creepy.

“I’ve always been considerate and respectful of the people I photograph and I view what I do as a real collaboration between myself and the people in front of the camera.”Wait…what? I must've missed something while looking at this pictures. I must have been distracted by the fact that a) whenever he's in the picture with the model, he's always in the position of sexual power, and never the model, and b) all the models he uses are white. Whoops, my bad.voguedissent.blogspot.com

In photo school I always kept out of discussions about his work, and for a long time I gave him the benefit of the doubt that his over-the-top style of photography was criticizing or at least commenting on the incredible and sometimes ridiculous way that sex is portrayed/promoted in popular culture, art and fashion. But now that I've followed his blog for a while and become more familiar with his fashion photography work, I'm just not convinced that he is an intelligent artist who knows what he is doing and what statement he is making. P.S Oliver, in regards to your claim of being “more of a feminist” than most of the females you know; feminism isn't a competition, and if it were, you'd be losing.http://loublog.tumblr.com/

Ah, the ol' “death of the artist” eh? Well, you may be right about about the artistic statement business, but I personally respect an artist a lot more if they can say something insightful about their own work.

Have you any idea what the starting age for models trying to make in that business is? About 15. That would make anyone going after them in a sexual way a pedophile. Oh and there's even that pesky little thing called statutory rape.Oh that's a good one; feminism is a competition? That's damn right I am too intelligent and mature to make “ironic” jokes about sexual assault and pedophilia. Get off the computer and go talk to someone who was the victim of either, and see first hand what it does to them. Its so deserving of your “ironic profanity”. You think these unknown models have a pick of whom they can shoot with? Do you have any idea how competitive the business is? Do you think if you tell your agency you don't want to shoot with someone considered well-respected within the industry that they'll tell you its okay & book you with the next famous photographer? No. In most cases the agency is a model's only meal ticket when they are starting out. An agency would drop a model in a second if they proved to be “difficult” in any way. Refusing to go on shoots with a photographer who has such power within the industry would definitely qualify. A photographer with such fame, wealth, and power can make a model's career take off and an agency is not likely to want to lose the income that would provide them. Oo I not only get irony but the bonus of a weak attempt at sarcasm! Wow you must be really cool.I am female, and not now nor ever were a “moralist” by any search of the definition. (Seriously, thanks for the laughs we all just had over that one!) I simply have compassion and will never “shut the fuck up” when it comes abuse of any kind. I most certainly will not “shut the fuck up” because some pissy little internet troll tells me to.

Oliver did actually say that the only convincing argument were the underage things…

“…recent and false allegations…”juz sayin'.

No one is holding these girls at gun point and forcing them into being photographed in a way in which they feel uncomfortable in. They may be young, but they do have mouths and minds of their own, they can say no. If they feel uncomfortable but don't say no, then the responsibility lies with themselves, not with Terry. It's not a surprise that none of the people who have come forward and made allegations about Terry's conduct, have been what I'd call TOP MODELS, the ones who have made complaints about him, I've never even heard of before. Yes Terry's work leaves little to the imagination at times, and sometimes it does tend to come across as awkward, but so does the work of other photographers, I mean Lara went Full frontal in Love magazine, Abbey is forever being shot topless, Lily posed nude for a Marc Jacobs T shirt, sex sells , and one can't condemn the use of Terry's sexually suggestive photography, when the entire industry seems to condone and endorse it.

There are many things in the above comment that I dislike. This one bothered me the most:”It's not a surprise that none of the people who have come forward and made allegations about Terry's conduct, have been what I'd call TOP MODELS, the ones who have made complaints about him, I've never even heard of before. “so it's okay to sexually harass non-famous models?

The allegations are about Richardson's conduct outside of when he was photographing them. Either way, in a photographer's studio there is a very clear power dynamic, especially with someone as well-known and praised as Terry Richardson. This is a man who can make or break a young model's career with a endorsement or a complaint. Yes, there is no gun, but there is incredible pressure from the agency, his reputation, and a model's want to succeed. Because of this, it is easy for someone like Richardson to take advantage.

My only response to Richardson's response: Too little, too late.His world is coming to an end and he's in a panic. Typical. I'm guessing his career is not over, but he'll have to learn to play by the rules.

For all your loudmouthed crusading, you are very, very naive.The sexualized nature of Terry Richardson's photos are not the issue here – it is his alleged conduct towards the models. If the accusations against Terry Richardson are true, he is guilty of sexual harassment and possibly even rape. Terry Richardson is a successful, respected, well-protected photographer whose shoots would be filled with HIS employees. For a young girl attempting to compete in an enormous pool, refusing the requests of such a person is tantamount to career suicide. This type of situation is called coersion.Lastly, if you're the “most feminist” of your female acquaintance, then I think it's time for your to widen your circle.

You're still missing the point, if these girls are not mature enough to be able to stand up for themselves and speak up when things don't feel right to them, then they shouldn't be in the Industry in the first place. If they aren't equipped with enough common sense to handle difficult situations, they should be at home with their parents, not parading in front of a camera in the first place. I stand by what I originally said, no one is forcing them, they know where the door is, they should use it.

And would you tell a child who was molested or a woman who was raped that they it wouldn't have happened if they had more common sense? Talk about blaming the victim. Many of these teen models are very poor, from very poor countries and modeling is the only chance they've had thus far to make money for their family. You're going to criticize them for trying to make a living? They shouldn't have to deal with employers who will take advantage of them. If they say no to Richardson, they are marked as difficult and their agencies don't give them work.

I didn’t undermine anything genius. Calling this man a pedophile based off hearsay and a few risky pictures of ADULT women is audacious and ill conceived. Since you are so convinced of his depravity, punkglamqueen, why don’t you produce evidence that supports that Terry Richardson is plagued by the psychological condition pedophilia.

spoken like a real feminist.

What Polanski did was out and out RAPE. He drugged a CHILD then RAPED her. And if what's being said about Terry is true, then no one should work with him again.

Regardless of whether these girls should be in the industry or not – if what they have said turns out to be true, it is still an abuse of power.