Prominent fashion photographer David LaChapelle is taking legal action over Rihanna’s video for her new single for S&M, it emerged on Monday. LaChapelle, who has shot celebrities for magazines such as Rolling Stone, GQ and Vanity Fair, said “the music video is directly derived from and substantially similar to the LaChapelle works.”

Rihanna, 22, has sold over 25 million albums worldwide and dominated music charts in the US with singles such as Umbrella and What’s my name? The single S&M, however, has fizzled on the charts, and the video has been banned in some countries for its sexual content. In the suit, LaChapelle said Rihanna had appropriated eight of his images into the video, such as a shot where she is shown in profile against a blue background with a piece of candy on her tongue. LaChapelle said Rihanna’s video copied the “composition, total concept, feel, tone, mood, theme, colours, props, settings, decors, wardrobe and lighting” of his work.

Earlier this month, the similarities were spotted by fans of the photographer, who flooded his fan pages on Facebook and Twitter with comments.

A source at his studio told celebrity website Radar Online that fans initially thought LaChapelle had directed the video.

He is suing for unspecified damages. A spokeswoman for Rihanna did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

— Daily Mail

Britney Spears punches herself in the face in preview of new video

She describes herself as a “boring homebody”, but Britney Spears looks anything but in her new video for Hold It Against Me.

In a teasing preview clip released on Sunday, the pop star is seen engaged in a catfight with herself, with one Britney knocking the other to the ground with a single punch to the face. The clip is just a hint of the upcoming video, set to premiere on MTV tomorrow. Wearing a sheer dress and sky-high heels, Britney squares up to her doppelgänger and swings a punch, sending the other Britney flying through the air. The weaker Britney lands hard on her back while the stronger pop princess turns to walk away in triumph. The scenes may surprise her fans, to whom she opened up during a live Twitter interview from her house in Calabasas, California. The mother-of-two said: “I’m really just a boring homebody who loves staying home with my kids and that’s where I’m the happiest.” Her new video, directed by Jonas Akerlund, features Britney strutting her stuff in a dark, violent and futuristic world. The track is the first single to be released from Britney’s new album Femme Fatale, which is out on March 29.

— Daily Mail

Oh no, not again! Liz Hurley’s relationship with Shane Warne rocked by allegations he bedded a 26-year-old porn star

Just one day after their first public outing as a couple, Elizabeth Hurley and Shane Warne’s relationship has been hit with allegations that the cricketer bedded a porn star while dating the former model.

A 26-year-old adult film star, Chloe Conrad, has revealed explicit text messages that Warne sent her and described their seedy night together to a Sunday tabloid. Chloe claims that she has even been left with a carpet burn scar from her sex session with the 41-year-old Australian sports star, that she has named her ‘Warnie Stamp’. Fellow Australian Chloe says her text messages and X-rated meetings with Warne took place as he began dating 45-year-old Liz Hurley. The porn star told the Sunday Mirror that she even had sex with Shane in the same suite at London’s Bentley hotel, where he later romanced Hurley. “If Liz thinks he has changed, she’s sorely mistaken. On the night he was with Liz at the Bentley he was sending texts to me. I never for one second thought I was the only woman. Everyone knows Shane is not the ideal guy to settle down with. Liz is a lot older than me and should be wiser,” the London-based Aussie told the tabloid. Hurley will no doubt be devastated by the allegations after being photographed hand in hand with Warne at a wedding on Saturday. The couple have been virtually inseparable in recent weeks and have been spending time together ‘Down Under’ while enjoying the Australian summer. Warne has a history of scandal in his private life and separated from his former wife Simone Callahan due to taking part in a string of extramarital affairs.

— Daily Mail