Jay-Z Files A Lawsuit Against ‘Reasonable Doubt’ Photographer Jonathan Mannion

Jay-Z is accusing Mannion of using his name and likeness to sell photos.

On Tuesday morning, TMZ reported that Jay-Z has filed a lawsuit against the legendary rap photographer Jonathan Mannion. The suit stems over Mannion’s selling of numerous images of Jay without his consent, a violation of the California civil code. According to Jay, he never gave the 50-year-old Mannion consent to sell the photos, and when asked to stop, Mannion is demanding tens of millions of dollars to stop selling the prints.

In documents obtained by TMZ, Jay-Z reportedly called it an “arrogant assumption that because [Mannion] took these photographs, he can do with them as he pleases.” He also said it was “ironic that a photographer would treat the image of a formerly-unknown Black teenager, now wildly successful, as a piece of property to be squeezed for every dollar it can produce.”

Unsurprisingly, Jay is asking Mannion for any profits he’s made off his likeness.

Mannion previously shot the Reasonable Doubt cover for Jay in 1996. Though the details of the deal aren’t made public, Jay claims he paid Mannion “handsomely” for the shoot. Mannion’s website currently features his photos of the Notorious B.I.G., DMX, Aaliyah, and more. 7.5 inch-by-18 inch prints of one picture from the Reasonable Doubt shoot, “Chess Not Checkers,” was priced at $1,500 on Mannion’s site. Over the course of his career, Mannion has shot over 300 album covers for artists like Dr. Dre, OutKast, Nas, Nicki Minaj, and Kendrick Lamar. Mannion has yet to comment on the lawsuit.