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Famed Fashion Photographer Bruce Weber Accused of Sexual Harassment

Jason Boyce claimed that Weber pressured him to take his clothes off and touch his own genitals

A former male model has filed a lawsuit against famed fashion photographer Bruce Weber, accusing him of sexual harassment during a 2014 photo shoot.

In a complaint filed with the New York State Supreme Court Friday, Jason Boyce, 31, claimed that Weber, 71, pressured him to take his clothes off and touch his own genitals during the photo shoot.

The alleged incident happened in December 2014 in Weber’s New York City studio and left Boyce "terrified and repulsed."

Court papers claim that Weber rubbed oil on Boyce’s head and allegedly slipped his finger in the model’s mouth before whispering, "If you just had confidence, you'd go really far. How far do you want to make it? How ambitious are you?"

Boyce, who was 28 years old at the time, said he did not respond. He also accused Weber of forcibly kissing him.

In addition to Weber, the lawsuit, which was first reported by the New York Post, names Weber’s production company Little Bear, Jason Kanner and Soul Artist Management as defendants. Kanner, who was Boyce’s agent at the time of the alleged incident, is the founder of Soul Artist.

Kanner first signed Boyce to Soul Artist in 2013 and arranged a meeting between the model and Weber at a Manhattan jewelry store in December 2014, according to the suit. Weber scheduled a photo shoot with Boyce through Kanner three days later. At that time, according to the suit, Kanner allegedly told Boyce, "This is big for you. You have to nail this."

"Boyce was the victim of 'casting couch' practices by the defendants, upon information and belief, are prevalent in the modeling industry, and suffered humiliation, emotional anguish and lost economic opportunities, including the end of his modeling career in New York," the complaint stated.

He alleges feeling "intense dread" at the thought of continuing his modeling career and "was worried that he would continue to run into Mr. Weber throughout his career," the complaint says.

According to Boyce's lawyer, civil rights attorney Lisa Bloom, more men have come forward with allegations against of Weber since the suit was filed.

An email request for comment sent to Weber's production company Little Bear was not immediately returned.

Weber, whose career spans five decades, has photographed countless high-profile Hollywood stars for Vanity Fair through the years. In 2013, he was honored with a 40-page portfolio spread which included images of Tom Hanks, Emma Stone, Bradley Cooper, Jane Fonda and Ben Affleck, among other A-listers.

During his several-years tenure as the ad photographer for clothing retailer Abercrombie and Fitch, Weber was famous for producing controversial campaigns featuring scantily-clad models and homoerotic imagery.

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