Pop singer Jennifer Lopez is the latest public figure to find herself embroiled in a legal battle, after a photographer announced he is suing her for $150,000 damages after she posted his image without permission. 

Lopez added the photo to her Instagram story back in June, accompanying it with a now-ironic caption of “Today was a good day!!”

As per court documents obtained by The Blast, the photographer named in the lawsuit is Michael Stewart. He took the photo of Lopez walking through New York City, before then licensing the picture to the Daily Mail. The photo appeared on their website on June 29 of this year.

Stewart is irritated because neither Lopez nor anyone on her team requested to use the picture, but seemingly lifted it from the news article. As well as Lopez, her production company Nuyorican Productions is named in the suit, which is for copyright infringement. He is seeking any profits she made from using the photo, or up to $150,000 in damages. The difficulty in a situation like this is directly linking Instagram content to actual profits.

The case reignites debate about whether celebrities are allowed to post paparazzi photos of themselves. Last year, Bruno Mars found himself in a similar situation when a photographer took issue with him posting a picture she took of him as a child.

Lead image credit: oouinouin via Flickr CC.