More from the Terry Richardson sexual assault files

Erin Gloria Ryan over at Jezebel has reported on yet another sexual assault case featuring who else but Terry Richardson.

A writer and stylist named Anna sent an email to Jezebel detailing the assault, which happened in July 2008 at a launch party of the Nolita restaurant Delicatessen. She was 23 at the time.

Richardson and his assistant/enabler, Leslie Lessin were both at the event as Richardson was hired to take photos of the party. Lessin approached Anna and asked for her contact info in order to set up a photo shoot. Here’s what happened next, according to Anna’s email, reprinted in its entirety at Jezebel:

“… they wanted to know if I would be willing to skip out on the party for a few minutes and go do an impromptu photo shoot at Terry’s home/studio on Bowery, just a few blocks away. Never one to turn down an ill-advised adventure or an appeal to my vanity, I said, ‘Sure!’

I can’t even say he shot any photos. His assistant held the camera and pushed the buttons, under his direction. At first, I just stood against the wall, traditional portrait-style while I made goofy faces and she snapped away. Innocent fun. He asked if I’d reveal my ‘tits.’ I’m not against nudity by any means and have had plenty of photographer friends shoot me in various states of undress so again, the answer was, ‘Sure. Why not!’ Boobs out, no big deal.

Then he entered the shot and Leslie snapped a few of us together. He had me kind of crouch down on the floor as I moved around, posing. Then, suddenly, I felt a dick pressing into the side of my face. Terry Richardson’s semi-hard penis was plunged into the outside of my cheek, and he was jabbing it into my face. Leslie giggled, and muttered something to the effect of the, “Isn’t this fun?!” He pressed it to my lips. He clearly wanted a blow job and wanted it documented on camera.

I didn’t want to act scared or angry because I was in this guy’s apartment with no one else around aside from his equally screwed-up assistant and who knows what these psychos were capable of, so I merely muttered something about having to get back to the party and jetted the hell out of there.”

Lessin called Anna a few days later and tried to convince her to show up at Richardson’s house and surprise-make out with him for his birthday because, in Lessin’s words, he was “obsessed” her. “Just don’t tell Jen [Brill, his photo agent girlfriend at the time]. She can never know about this,” Lessin added.

I suppose these two creeps thought Richardson’s victim would be flattered??

Shockingly, Anna declined. “Leslie, I have no desire to make out with him. Absolutely not,” she said.

I just can’t even imagine how many more women there are out there. The only “good” to come out of these seemingly never ending testimonies about Richardson is that they seem to have encouraged and allowed more women to come forward who, at the time, felt too powerless, intimidated, and confused (understandably — Richardson is fully aware he is in a position of power and intentionally manipulates his victims into believing what he’s doing is perfectly normal and consensual you know, how predators do) to say anything at the time.

Anna concludes by saying:

“The photos are still out there, but I have never seen them. I would have come out with the story when the incident happened, but – as pathetic as this sounds – didn’t think anyone would give a shit about a non-model getting a dick, albeit a famous fashion photographer’s dick, shoved in her face without any proof whatsoever. I seriously regret just pushing it aside, as I have done time and time again when it comes to incidents involving myself and sexual assaults, a history that goes back to when I was a young teenager. But hearing that New York magazine is going to publish a story absolving the sleazebag of a load of sick, sordid stuff he most definitely, obviously did to multiple women is enough to finally incite me. The guy shouldn’t just be locked out from the fashion photography world, he should be in jail. Add another girl to the list!”

Meghan Murphy

Founder & Editor

Meghan Murphy is a freelance writer and journalist from Vancouver, BC. She has been podcasting and writing about feminism since 2010 and has published work in numerous national and international publications, including The Spectator, UnHerd, Quillette, the CBC, New Statesman, Vice, Al Jazeera, The Globe and Mail, and more. Meghan completed a Masters degree in the department of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies at Simon Fraser University in 2012 and is now exiled in Mexico with her very photogenic dog.