Celebrity News

Art suit paints a nasty pic

The legal war between David LaChapelle and his former manager Fred Torres took a new turn this week when Torres filed a $75 million suit against the artist. The fotog filed a federal suit last year against Torres for allegedly cheating him out of more than $2.8 million. On Wednesday Torres, who dated LaChapelle before repping him, filed the suit claiming LaChapelle owes him for printing costs, unpaid commissions, storage fees and personal expenses. In the suit in Manhattan Supreme Court, Torres compares himself to Andy Warhol’s famous agent Fred Hughes. But LaChapelle’s lawyer Deborah Drooz says, “Mr. Torres and his company owe Mr. LaChapelle millions. This is just harassment and retaliation and . . . a distraction strategy.” Torres’ lawyer David Schrader said the suit’s “not retaliatory at all” and, “The reality is Mr. LaChapelle owes Fred money . . . [LaChapelle] decided he could do it better or cheaper without him and cut him out.” LaChapelle’s PR rep told us, “David is in Maui and staying focused on his upcoming project in Paris.”