Mario Testino accused of sexual harassment by male models

Photographers Mario Testino and Bruce Weber have been accused of sexual harassment by male assistants and male models, according to a new expose by The New York Times.
The pair have been suspended from working with fashion magazines, including Vogue, after models accused the photographers of sexually exploiting them.
Anna Wintour, the artistic director of Conde Nast, said the publisher would not work with the pair for the “foreseeable future” following Saturday’s (13Jan18) report.
Testino, 63, favoured by celebrities and royalty, including the late Princess Diana, took the official engagement pictures for Prince William and Princess Catherine in 2010. He also recently shot Serena Williams’ February Vogue cover with her daughter Alexis.
He has been accused by 13 male assistants and models of subjecting them to sexual advances.
Model Ryan Locke, who worked with Testino on Gucci campaigns, accused him of being aggressive and flirtatious throughout shoots, adding: “He was a sexual predator.”
Hugo Tillman, a former assistant of the photographer, said Testino once grabbed him on the street and tried to kiss him and, a few weeks later, pinned him down on a bed until he was removed by Testino’s brother. Tillman said he quit his job a few days later.
Another of the photographer’s assistants, Roman Barrett, said the 63-year-old masturbated in front of him, while one anonymous assistant alleged Testino masturbated on him during a business trip.
Weber, 71, was accused by 15 current and former models of subjecting them to unnecessary nudity and coercive sexual behaviour.
Model Josh Ardolf said that during a nude shoot his genitals were grabbed by Weber, and model Bobby Roache said the photographer tried to put his hands down his trousers during a casting in 2007.
In a statement to the newspaper from his lawyer, Weber said: “I’m completely shocked and saddened by the outrageous claims being made against me, which I absolutely deny.”
Lawyers for Testino disputed their accounts and told The New York Times that the sources for their expose could “not be considered reliable”.