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Marc Jacobs Defends Terry Richardson

So Terry Richardson’s scandal didn’t reach Tiger Woods proportions. After Rie Rasmussen accused the photographer of “degrading” his female subjects, a number of them came forward with allegations that he took advantage of them on shoots and exploited them. But this week, after Richardson called the allegations “false” on his website, the stories died down. Fashion insiders have already said they didn’t expect the scandal to affect Richardson’s employment. A few in the industry have defended Richardson; Marc Jacobs said this week he had heard about the allegations but that the photographer is “not ill-spirited.”

The Wall Street Journal’s Speakeasy blog reports:

We asked Jacobs whether sexy photo shoots with young models should be more closely monitored by the fashion industry. “I’ve worked with Terry and Terry has asked me to do some crazy things,” Jacobs said. “I know that those pictures will exist if I do them. But I’m a big boy and I can say no.”

… Talking more widely about the industry, he added: “If a girl is underage, maybe the girl’s agent or chaperon should be present on the shoot. That’s the hard part. Who’s to blame or who’s to watch?”

Yet one of the more scathing accounts of Richardson’s alleged sexual misconduct was written by Jamie Peck, who was 19 at the time of her Richardson encounters.

Marc Jacobs on Terry Richardson: “He’s Not Ill-Spirited” [Speakeasy/WSJ]

Marc Jacobs Defends Terry Richardson