Vampire Weekend Settle Lawsuit with ‘Contra’ Model
Vampire Weekend and their label XL Records have settled a lawsuit with Ann Kirsten Kennis, the woman who appeared on the cover of their 2010 album Contra. Kennis had claimed that she did not provide consent to appear on the record sleeve, and that the photographer, Tod Brody, had forged her model release when the Polaroid shot was taken back in the Eighties. Kennis has won an undisclosed settlement and the case was dismissed by a federal court in Los Angeles.
The band and XL are currently in the process of suing Brody for misrepresenting his rights to the photo, which he licensed to them for $5,000. Brody's attorneys dropped out of the case in June, mainly due to his failure to pay his legal bills. The photographer is now representing himself in the case.