1990.09.06 - The Dispatch - Photographer sues rock band

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Photographer sues rock band

LOS ANGELES (UPI) - A photographer hired by MTV to take photographs of Axl Rose and his Guns ’N’ Roses band at a video awards show has sued the group and their bodyguard for allegedly shoving him and injuring him, court documents showed Wednesday.

According to the Superior Court lawsuit, Jeff Kravitz was hired by a MTV publicist to photograph celebrities, including Rose, at the MTV Music Video Awards presentation Sept. 6,1989.

Kravitz, wearing a large yellow “staff” tag that allowed him access to all parts of the Universal Amphitheater, where the show was held, was preparing to snap a picture of the heavy metal rock star when one of his bodyguards, identified only as Stewart, approached Kravitz, the suit said.

The bodyguard shouted to Kravitz “no pictures” and “placed his hand over the lens of the camera, shoved the camera against Kravitz and shoved the shoulder of Kravitz,” the suit said.

A picture taken at that moment shows part of a vest Rose was wearing and the outline of a hand, the suit said.

Kravitz started to take another picture when the bodyguard stepped in front of the camera, “shouting Ί told you no pictures,’ threatening to smash the camera to the ground and to harm Kravitz, and grabbed (his) camera to pull it away from him,” the lawsuit said.

As Kravitz tried to protect himself and his camera, he lost his footing, and although he did not fall, was injured, the suit said.

Kravitz suffered a sprained or strained back, causing “severe neck pain” and “massive headaches” and also aggravated a previous injury to his elbow, the suit said.

The lawsuit, which alleges negligence and conspiracy to commit assault and battery, seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

Photographer shoves back at Guns N' Roses

A photographer hired by MTV to take pictures of Axl Rose and his Guns N' Roses band at a video awards show has sued the group and their bodyguard for allegedly shoving him and injuring him, court documents showed Wednesday. According to the Superior Court lawsuit, Jeff Kravitz was hired by a MTV publicist to photograph celebrities, including Rose, at the MTV Music Video Awards presentation Sept. 6, 1989. Kravitz, wearing a large yellow "staff- tag that allowed him access to all parts of the Universal Amphitheater was preparing to snap a picture of the heavy metal rock star when one of his bodyguards approached Kravitz, the suit said.

The photographer, Jeff Kravitz, posted on his instagram account about this recently:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8PslPKJTiH/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

View this post on Instagram

Happy 58th Birthday to Axl Rose. In 1988 backstage at my first @mtv @vmas I was assaulted by his brother Stewie who is the pissed off guy in the first photo. That’s his hand in the second shot. He pushed my camera into my face and we wrestled over it as he tried to smash it to the ground. Axl’s head in frame three. Frame four is Axl from the back shot before he got in the van. The cover of @usatoday the day of the VMA show a year later was a doozy. The pix featured I had shot at rehearsal the day before and if you look on the left the story of my lawsuit also broke that day. Nice timing! The MTV execs were so excited with me!! The last shot is a decade later backstage at another VMA and yea, he had no idea who I was.

A post shared by Jeff Kravitz (@jeffkravitz) on Feb 6, 2020 at 4:18pm PST

Haha, funny. I don't know how Instagram works and if it will stay up forever, so I copied the text and pictures and uploaded it:

"Happy 58th Birthday to Axl Rose. In 1988 backstage at my first @mtv @vmas I was assaulted by his brother Stewie who is the pissed off guy in the first photo. That’s his hand in the second shot. He pushed my camera into my face and we wrestled over it as he tried to smash it to the ground. Axl’s head in frame three. Frame four is Axl from the back shot before he got in the van. The cover of @usatoday the day of the VMA show a year later was a doozy. The pix featured I had shot at rehearsal the day before and if you look on the left the story of my lawsuit also broke that day. Nice timing! The MTV execs were so excited with me!! The last shot is a decade later backstage at another VMA and yea, he had no idea who I was."