Separate from its own litigation, in which Orlando Museum of Art sued former director Aaron DeGroft and owners of works attributed to acclaimed artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, the museum has been quietly involved in a second suit — as the defendant.
That second suit was also tied to the Basquiat scandal, which in June 2022 saw the FBI seize the art hanging in the museum as part of its “Heroes & Monsters” exhibition.
The nearly century-old Orlando museum was sued this spring by Sisaundra Lewis, a singer who appeared on NBC’s “The Voice.” She claimed the museum used a photo of her inappropriately on its website without permission — and that hurt her image because of the museum’s tainted reputation in the wake of the negative publicity generated by the Basquiat affair.
While the suit filed by the museum remains pending, Lewis’s suit came to an end in recent days with an undisclosed settlement with the museum.
In her original complaint, Lewis had said her damages were worth at least $30,000.
While that case was ongoing, Orlando Museum of Art officials said it was their policy not to comment on active litigation. After the settlement was reached, the museum still would not comment. Michael Moore, Lewis’s attorney, also did not provide comment.
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In her initial filing, Lewis explained how she felt her photo was misused. In May of 2022, while the “Heroes & Monsters” exhibition was still on view, she was invited to attend a 1st Thursday event at the museum, she said. Now discontinued, 1st Thursday evenings were a monthly series of art-related social gatherings.
Without her knowledge, Lewis said, her name was provided to photographers at the event as a VIP guest, and subsequently, a photo of her was used on the museum’s website.
“After discovering that the Defendant was using her image, without authorization, the Plaintiff became concerned because of national negative publicity that the Defendant had been receiving,” Lewis’s claim stated. “The FBI’s raid on the Defendant’s premises, and the negative national publicity that ensued, could have long-term ramifications on the Plaintiff’s reputation, goodwill, and the positive character that she has built up over many years, which are inseparably connected to the Plaintiff’s image. The stigma of the Defendant using the Plaintiff’s picture and being associated with an international scandal that involves fraud has the potential to greatly impact the Plaintiff’s career.”
Lewis has had a long career in multiple aspects of show business. She has performed with such stars as Peabo Bryson, Celine Dion, Michael Bolton, Gloria Estefan, Enrique Iglesias and Patti LaBelle, she said. In 2005, she had a hit dance-club single titled “Shout.”
She later collaborated with Blake Shelton, Bebe Winans, Sting and Andrew Lloyd Webber, according to information provided in her suit.
Central Floridians may know her as a singer-performer in Cirque du Soleil’s former “La Nouba” show at Walt Disney World, where she performed in 2003 and then again from 2007-2014.
More recently, Lewis has been hosting a cable talk show averaging 1.46 million viewers, she said, and she is the founder of Find Your Voice, a program designed to empower and inspire girls.
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“The Plaintiff’s picture, image and likeness enjoy wide-spread recognition and monetary value,” her suit said. “To prevent any diminution of that value, the Plaintiff carefully and deliberately protected her valuable professional name, picture, image, likeness and persona, that is, her legally recognized right of privacy and publicity, from exploitation through unauthorized commercial advertising.”
The museum aggressively rebutted Lewis’s claims — including the idea she was well-known enough to be considered a celebrity.
“OMA denies that Plaintiff is a highly successful singer, songwriter, producer, television host, philanthropist and celebrity,” its rebuttal said. “OMA denies that Plaintiff’s picture, image and likeness enjoy wide-spread recognition and monetary value.”
The museum also pointed out that in attending 1st Thursday, Lewis had walked by a posted notice stating that all attendees “consent to your voice, name and/or likeness being used, without compensation, in print or film for use in any or all media and advertising…” The sign also released the museum “from any liability whatsoever of any nature.”
But the museum did acknowledge the damage done to its reputation after the FBI raid and subsequent developments, including a confession from a California auctioneer that he helped create some of the art in the exhibition years after Basquiat’s death.
“OMA sustained significant reputation damage as a result of the Heroes & Monsters exhibition,” its response said.
That reputational damage forms the basis of its own suit, in which the museum seeks unspecified compensation of its own from former director Aaron De Groft, who organized the “Heroes & Monsters” exhibit, and the owners of the disputed artwork.
In the ongoing case, the museum says the debacle has cost it “hundreds of thousands of dollars,” and “It will take OMA decades of work to rebuild its standing, recover donors, and repair the damage Defendants have caused, if doing so is even possible.”
That lawsuit is still awaiting a formal response from the defendants, some of whom have denied the allegations and promised to fight the litigation vigorously.
Follow me at facebook.com/matthew.j.palm or email me at mpalm@orlandosentinel.com. Find more arts news and reviews at orlandosentinel.com/arts, and go to orlandosentinel.com/theater for theater news and reviews.
