Dua Lipa is being sued for posting a paparazzi photo of herself on her Instagram account, according to BBC News.
The “Levitating” singer shared an image of herself waiting in line for a flight in February 2019.
Integral Images, the company that owns the copyright to the photo, is now accusing Lipa of “knowingly” sharing it “without permission or authorization,” according to court documents seen by the BBC.
The company alleges that the singer has profited from the photo due to the fact that her Instagram account is “monetized,” BBC News reported.
Copyright law usually means that the photographer, not the subject of the image, owns the rights to a photo.
Integral Images was granted copyright for the image on 20 February 2021 – two weeks after Lipa’s post – according to records from the US Copyright Office that were reviewed by the BBC.
Lipa has since deleted the post, but Integral Images is still seeking $150,000 in damages, a jury trial, and an order preventing Lipa from further acts of infringement, the media outlet said.
Lipa isn’t the first celebrity to be sued for sharing paparazzi images without permission. Gigi Hadid, Liam Hemsworth, Khloé Kardashian, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, and Jennifer Lopez have also been involved in similar lawsuits, according to complex magazine.
