Jennifer Lopez Is Being Sued Over This Instagram Photo

JLo is being sued. The “Hustlers” star has gone from playing a criminal on-screen to finding herself tied up in a legal battle over an old Instagram photo.

In June 2017, Jennifer Lopez posted a close-up photo of herself with windswept hair and the caption, “#Harlee.” The image in question can be viewed below.

New York Photographer Steve Sands has now accused the “On the Floor” singer and Nuyorican Productions, her production company, for copyright infringement by saying that Lopez and her team used the photo to “promote their brand” on Instagram, according to E! Online.

"Defendants did not license the Photograph from Plaintiff for its Website, nor did Defendants have Plaintiff's permission or consent to publish the Photograph on its Website," the lawsuit reads.

The lawsuit was filed in Manhattan federal court and court documents cite that Sands is “entitled to statutory damages up to $150,000 per work infringed."

Lopez has 119 million followers on Instagram and this particular photo had been liked more than 656,000 times at press time.

It’s not the first time the entertainer has found herself the subject of a case like this. Lopez was sued in January by Samantha Barbash, the real-life stripper who inspired Lopez’s character, Ramona, in “Hustlers.” Barbash claimed that Lopez's character was based on Barbash's own experiences and likeness without her permission and therefore damaged her reputation.

However, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the producers of the film asked the New York federal judge last week to toss the case out, believing her accusations do not hold enough weight because the film is a work of fiction.

"Defendants do not deny that Plaintiff’s story was part of the inspiration for the movie, but Plaintiff has not plausibly alleged that a reasonable viewer would take the one allegedly defamatory statement — the scene in which the character Ramona is 'using and manufacturing illegal substances in her home' — as a factual assertion about her,” attorney Jacquelyn Schell of Ballard Spahr wrote in the filing.

Barbash sued for $40 million dollars.

If the latest case over the 2017 Instagram photo holds up in court, Lopez could find herself out $150,000.