Maybe Terry Richardson's never been convicted of a crime, but he's been accused of plenty of sexual misconduct. Too much. Yet, despite the multiple accusations being written and written and written about, magazines still hire him, praise still finds him, and celebrities — at the very least — continue to entertain his Instagrams. That seemed to be changing after both Vogue and Target made it clear they'd no longer work with the photographer, but now Playboy has enlisted him to shoot an entire 2015 issue of the magazine.
Considering Richardson allegedly preys on young models hoping to further their careers, soliciting sex for a Vogue shoot (at least when he could still get Vogue), we'd rather he never be around any models ever. But, this still might be a sign of progress. Maybe he's going to the male-centric sex mag because it's his final frontier. Not that Playboy is easy to get — and he has worked for it in the past — but, to a man who's used to working for high-fashion houses and illustrious glossies, it's not exactly a step up. He's pissed off a lot of women, and where women go, women's magazines follow. Maybe men's mags that slather models with salad dressing are just where his life's at right now. Or, so we can hope.
Last month, New York magazine published a piece that asked the now-common question: Is Richardson an artist or a pervert? Can he be both? And, if so, does the former ever justify the latter? Playboy seems to know that the two are too tangled together to ever be extricated. It's capitalizing on his notoriety, letting Richardson loose and inviting readers to see, very explicitly, what he sees.
And, that alone is a perverse invitation. (Salon)