NEW YORK (Reuters) - Four male models
who appeared in an ad campaign against
domestic violence are suing New York
City, saying the posters stayed up
beyond the agreed time, leading people
to think they really were wife beaters.
Christopher Dorm,
Triple Edwards, Daniel Royer and Javier
Velarde appeared in posters throughout
the city to promote awareness of domestic
violence. The men were pictured behind
bars with captions such as "Successful
executive. Devoted churchgoer. Abusive
husband."
The four agreed to
the October 2002 photo shoot on the
condition that the ads be posted only
in New York City buses and subways
and be taken down after five weeks,
the lawsuit says. They were each paid
between $1,500 to $2,000.
But the posters stayed
up until at least August 2003 and
appeared in several locations, including
police stations and charities, said
Jeffrey Pagano, the lawyer who filed
the suit in Manhattan Supreme Court
on March 23.
The models are seeking
$1 million each in damages.
"This is a public
service that's gone sideways,"
Pagano said on Tuesday. "It's
turned into a horror show."
Copies of the posters
were so widespread for so long, that
friends of the models believed the
men had been arrested and were actual
"women beaters," according
to the lawsuit.
The city's legal
department said it has sent notification
to remove any ads that may still be
up.
"The City was
not privy to the fact that there was
any time limit on the ads. Moreover,
the models had agreed to be portrayed
as domestic abusers as part of the
City's campaign against. |
