The supermodel who uttered the memorable quote that she didn’t get out of bed for less than $10,000 is being sued by the Wilhelmina agency. It is alleged that Linda Evangelista, the on-off lover of France and Manchester United goalkeeper Fabien Barthez, and her agent conspired to defraud the New York-based company.
Wilhelmina alleges that the chameleon-like model and her agent Didier Fernandez conspired to withhold the agency’s cut from lucrative modelling assignments worth tens of thousands of dollars. The two allegedly used code names, untraceable cell phones and messengers to keep goings-on away from the agency.
Although the model’s lawyer was not returning calls, Fernandez’s attorney said: “I think that the allegations are groundless, which will ultimately come out in the wash.” The agent was hired by Wilhelmina in May 2000 to head a new division called W Management or W. The aim was to get some of the world’s highest-profile models – including Linda herself, Amber Valetta and Nadja Auermann – to defect from their existing agents and come to W.
Wilhelmina is seeking unspecified damages and also says that the scheme was continuing until last month. The lawsuit, which was filed last Thursday in Manhattan Supreme Court, could not have come at a worse time for the Canadian-born model, 36. She is due to appear on the cover of next month’s Vogue, having been lured out of retirement by über-snapper Steven Meisel.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
