Who is Bruce Weber? | The US sun
BRUCE Weber is an American fashion photographer and filmmaker.
He is best known for his advertising campaigns for brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch and Calvin Klein, and has worked for magazines such as Vogue, Elle and Vanity Fair.
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Who is Bruce Weber?
Weber was born on March 29, 1946 in Greensburg, Pennsylvania.
His first high-profile fashion photography appeared in GQ magazine in the late 1970s.
In 1978 he photographed the Bloomingdales mail catalogue.
In 1988, after dabbling in short films, he made the documentary Let’s Get Lost about jazz trumpeter Chet Baker.
Why is Bruce Weber famous?
Weber became known to a broader public in the early 1980s through his black and white campaigns for Calvin Klein.
Most notably, he photographed Olympic athlete Tom Hintnaus in white briefs.
He has often been the focus of controversy, in one instance he did an editorial for SoHo Weekly News that featured two men in their underwear.
Weber also cemented his reputation with shoots for the clothing brand Abercrombie & Fitch.
What are the allegations against Bruce Weber?
In December 2017, model Jason Boyce sued Weber for sexual assault, including inappropriate touching and kissing during a 2014 casting session.
A second model, Mark Ricketson, came forward in December 2017 with similar claims.
Then, in January 2018, The New York Times detailed allegations of sexual assault by fifteen male models against Weber, specifically citing “unnecessary nudity and coerced sexual behavior” during professional photo shoots.
Weber has denied the allegations, telling the New York Times that the allegations were “untrue” and that he “never touched anyone inappropriately.”
Then, in December 2018, five other male models filed a lawsuit against Weber, alleging that the photographer exploited or sexually abused them.
The lawsuit calls Weber a “serial sex offender,” and attorneys representing the models are calling the photographer’s actions sex trafficking.
Attorney Lisa Bloom, whose firm represents the five models, told the New York Times, “It’s considered a commercial sex act because the person who applied is hoping to get a job.”
In the Netflix documentary White Hot: The Rise and Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch, former brand model Ryan Daharsh says, “It was well known that Bruce liked young men.”
Weber again denied the allegations.
He told the newspaper, “I’ve used common breathing exercises and professionally photographed thousands of nude models throughout my career, but never touched anyone inappropriately.”
Jayne Weintraub, one of Weber’s attorneys, added: “We are confident that Mr. Weber will prevail against these false allegations; not just with words, but with evidence in court.”
Where is Bruce Weber now?
After the allegations in the original Times report, publishers and brands distanced themselves from Weber.
Condé Nast, the global media company that publishes Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ and other magazines said they would no longer be hiring Weber “for the foreseeable future.”
Brands, including Abercrombie & Fitch, also dropped it.
Weber reportedly settled the cases brought by Boyce and the five models outside of the courtroom in September 2021.
Details about the settlement were not disclosed.
In late 2021, Weber published his book The Golden Retriever Photographic Society.
He also directed the documentary The Treasure of His Youth: The Photographs Of Paolo Di Paolo, which premiered at the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival in March 2022.
He also photographed a cover and spread for ICON magazine’s April 2022 issue.