Royal favourite photographer dumped over models’ sex abuse claims
Vogue suspends Testino and Weber
ROYAL photographer Mario Testino has been barred from working with Vogue and other fashion titles after 13 men accused him of subjecting them to sexual exploitation.
Vogue publisher Condé Nast has also dropped veteran snapper Bruce Weber, after 15 male models accused him of coercive sexual behaviour.
Anna Wintour, artistic director of Condé Nast, said the allegations against her “personal friends” had been “hard to hear and heartbreaking to confront”.
She said: “I take the allegations very seriously and we at Condé Nast have decided to put our working relationship with both photographers on hold for the foreseeable future.”
Testino, is known for his work with Princess Diana, and took Princess Charlotte’s official christening photos. He was awarded an honorary OBE in 2014. In an article in the New York Times last week, he was accused by male assistants and models of subjecting them to sexual advances in allegations going back to the 1990s.
One model, Ryan Locke, accused the Peruvian-born snapper of aggression and said: “He was a sexual predator.”
Assistant Hugo Tillman said Testino, who worked with supermodels Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss, had grabbed
him on the street and tried to kiss him. He had also pinned him down on a bed until he was removed by another person. Another assistant, Roman Barrett, claimed: “Sexual harassment was a constant reality.” Lawyers for Testino, 63, who photographed Serena Williams and her daughter Alexis for the cover of February’s Vogue, said the men making the claims could not be considered reliable. The claims against Weber, 71, include an allegation by model Josh Ardolf that he grabbed him at a nude shoot. And model Bobby Roache claims Weber tried to put his hands down his trousers at a casting in 2007. Weber said: “I’m completely shocked and saddened by the outrageous claims being made against me, which I absolutely deny.” In November, Condé Nast denied that Testino had been sacked the previous month because of allegations of sexual misconduct. The firm told our investigators there was “no truth whatsoever” in the claim that Testino had been fired.
The firm said: “Condé Nast continues to work with Mario and has nothing but admiration for his work.”
A spokeswoman for Condé Nast last night said: “No one at Condé Nast received any complaints. Our response to your query in November was accurate based on what we knew then.
“In light of the deeply disturbing accusations made in the New York Times, as of now we will not be commissioning any new work with Bruce Weber or Mario Testino for the foreseeable future..”
Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace last night declined to comment.
In October, Condé Nast finally dropped snapper Terry Richardson, seven years after claims had been made that he sexually exploited models.