Terry Richardson's Latest Scandal Was an All-Too Believable Hoax

The latest foray into the terrible world of Terry Richardson was a hoax. An online forensic expert says the Facebook account from which the text was sent to model Emma Appleton, offering a Vogue photo shoot in exchange for sex with Richardson, is officially fake.

Digital detective Theo Yedinsky says the Facebook account was started from a “random gmail account” and a source told Page Six the social media company confirmed that the account was not a verified Richardson address and closed it. A source close to Richardson added that “the whole thing is defamatory and possibly illegal. Appleton’s agent was informed about the fake account . . . but refused to acknowledge the truth and continued to grandstand.”

Still, like R. Kelly earlier this week, Richardson has long been accused of inappropriate sexual behavior with young female models so, though he hasn’t been convicted of any crimes, Appleton thinking the camera man offered his loins in exchange for pictures doesn’t seem that far-fetched. But since the faux offer wasn’t delivered in Richardson’s reported penis-brandishing, pedophile peer pressure way via an assistant like Leslie Lessin, something did seem off.

Here’s a look back at former model Jamie Peck’s detailed personal account of working with the bespectacled fashion photographer a few times in 2010:

I went straight downtown from there, thinking it would be more of the same, but it wasn’t. Uncle Terry was feeling frisky that day! I told him I had my period so I wanted to keep my underwear on, and he asked me to take my tampon out for him to play with. “I love tampons!” he said, in that psychotically upbeat way that temporarily convinces so many girls that what’s fun for Uncle Terry is fun for them. (I can just imagine him chirping, “Why don’t you wear these fairy wings while I fuck you in the ass? Wouldn’t that be like, so fun?” to some attenuated girl fresh off the boat from Eastern Europe. Either the man’s totally delusional, or he gets off on the fact that many of these things are not, in fact, very much fun for the girls.) I politely declined his offer to make tea out of my bloody cunt plug. It was then that he decided to just get naked.

See what I mean?

Last month, Richardson penned an open letter to protest his innocence regarding the sexual harassment claims against him, which means maybe Vogue and Beyoncé are actually re-thinking hiring a guy who’s known for inappropriate behavior while letting off feminist warrior cries. Peck responded to Richardson’s open letter and called bullshit, so it is Richardson’s play next. Perhaps we’ll stop hearing strange stories about him or maybe his hotline of moneyed clients like Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, GQ and all those sexually awkward artist photos will dry up? Only time will tell.