Axl Roe and Slash from Guns N’ Roses
Photo: Redferns, Shlomi Pinto. All rights reserved.
Photographer Katarina Benzova filed a complaint against Guns ‘N’ Roses on Sunday (November 12): According to court documents available to NME, she is suing the band for copyright infringement on her photos and sexual harassment by manager Fernando Lebeis.
Charges of copyright infringement
As “NME” reports, Benzova recalls in the complaint that she photographed the band at concerts on a freelance basis from 2010 to 2022.
However, the documents state that the band committed copyright infringements on their photos. This was done through “reproduction, public display and distribution”. Benzova has also been accused of “creating derivative works for licenses” and “selling publications to third parties after the right to do so has terminated”.
Benzova also claimed in the filing that the band altered their photos to falsely claim credit.
Sexual assault and humiliation against manager Fernando Lebeis
In the lawsuit, the photographer also alleged that Lebeis had made unwanted sexual advances toward her since he became the band’s manager in 2016. When Benzova repeatedly rebuffed the manager’s advances, his behavior allegedly escalated to “insults, ridicule, derogatory comments, humiliation, bullying and lies.”
Lebeis is also said to have reduced Benzova’s fee without notification and withheld payments. He also ignored their efforts to get written contracts with the band and moved them to cheaper hotels while traveling. Lebeis is said to have ultimately even demanded that she pay travel expenses out of her own pocket.
In October 2022, Lebeis ended its collaboration with Benzova, citing “budgetary concerns.” Benzova speculated that Lebeis discriminated against her because she rejected his sexual advances.
The band has not yet commented publicly on the lawsuits.