More Women Are Accusing Photographer Jonathan Leder Of Assault And Using Their Photos Without Permission
Emily Ratajkowski wrote an essay in which she accused photographer Jonathan Leder of sexually assaulting her after a photoshoot.
In Depth

In September, model and actress Emily Ratajkowski wrote an essay in which she accused photographer Jonathan Leder of sexually assaulting her after a photoshoot when she was 20 years old. Since the essay was published, the New York Times reports that a number of women, including actress Nola Palmer, have come forward with stories of how Leder has breached their consent by using photos of them against their wishes or, in some cases, by physically or sexually assaulting them—including his ex-wife, Danielle F. O. Hettara.
Danielle F. O. Hettara married Leder in 2009, and the two worked together on Jacques, a magazine inspired by vintage Playboy featuring what Leder called “wholesome” nudity. But in 2011, Hettara claims that after she confronted Leder about his involvement with actress Nola Palmer, he choked her while she was holding their infant daughter. She said in an interview about the incident, “I was so shaken up that I couldn’t remember the number to call 911.” Hettara went to the police five days later and was granted an order of protection. Leder was arrested in January 2012 on charges of criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation and endangering the welfare of a child, but was ultimately acquitted.
But when Hettara told her story to other people in the industry, hoping they’d stop working with him, nothing came of it.
“A lot of people didn’t care, because as you can see, the modeling agencies just sent him models,” she said.“I immediately got painted as this jealous housewife.”
Just a year later in 2013, Kathleen Sorbara, a former model, was photographed by Leder. After reading Ratajkowski’s essay, she searched Instagram to find that just in August, a Japanese company had started selling shirts printed with some of Leder’s photos, including ones of her in lingerie. But Sorbara wasn’t surprised—Leder had explicitly disrespected her desires about the photos in the past.