Wendy Williams & Hilary Duff Sued By Photographer For Defamation, Alleges They Suggested He Was A Child Predator When Taking Photos Of Actress’ Son
Wendy Williams & Hilary Duff Sued By Photographer For Defamation, Alleges They Suggested He Was A Child Predator When Taking Photos Of Actress’ Son
Wendy Williams and actress Hilary Duff are the latest celebrities to face lawsuits from a photographer.
According to The Daily Mail, the ladies are being sued by Darryl Wilkins.
Hilary Duff already has a history with the photographer. In February 2020, she shared a video of her confronting Wilkins for taking pictures of her son Luca, 8, playing football with other kids. She called him out for being “creepy” and asked him several times to stop taking pictures of the children, adding there was
“just an uncomfortability factor that these are seven-year-old children and you don’t have a child here.”
Wilkins defended snapping the photos and said,
“Well, I’m taking pictures. I’m practicing photography and I’m not here to scare you or anything like that. Your paranoia is unwarranted.”
Hilary Duff said she would
“just post this to my 15 million followers on Instagram and let people know how creepy it is that this is what you’re choosing to do on Saturday morning.”
Wilkins then asked,
“Creepy to who?”
As promised, she shared the video with the caption,
‘Paparazzi shooting KIDS. Go “practice” your photography on ADULTS! Creep! Laws need to change! This is stalking minors! Disgusting!’
See the video here.
“Creepy to me, sir. If you’re practicing photography why wouldn’t you go into a park and take pictures of birds and butterflies?”
Now, Wilkins is suing Hilary Duff for defamation and Wendy Williams for slander.
Wilkins accuses the ladies of taking part in fraud, malice, and oppression and therefore owes him for general, specific, and punitive damages. He said Hilary Duff defamed when she alluded to him participating in
“reprehensible and despicable conduct including by innuendo that he was a child predator.”
He said he was simply trying out his camera and that the ladies made
“false statements because Wilkins is not a pedophile or child predator and was attempting to take photographs as a photographer and not as a paparazzi or stalker or with mal intent or evil wrongdoing.”
He alleges they hurt his reputation and profession by knowingly lying on him on their social media pages and talk show, where they have a large audience.
Hilary Duff’s video has garnered more than two million views.
What are your thoughts on the lawsuit? Comment and let us know.