Rihanna Belfast picture costs Topshop £900k in legal fees

Topshop has been ordered to pay Rihanna's "startling" £919,000 legal bill after it sold T-shirts baring an "unflattering" image of her snapped in Belfast.

The photograph that chart topping Rihanna has such an issue with was taken by a Press photographer while she shot a video in the New Lodge area.

The Bajan superstar caused quite a stir when she visited Northern Ireland in September 2011 to shoot the video for We Found Love, which went on to be a global hit.

Rihanna was mobbed when she filmed in the New Lodge following her run in with DUP councillor and farmer Alan Graham, in Bangor, Co Down.

Mr Graham found himself at the centre of a media storm after he halted filming of the video in his field after discovering Rihanna topless.

At the time Mr Graham said he believed women stars should not have "to take their clothes off to entertain".

Yesterday, Sir Philip Green's high street chain was ordered to stop selling T-shirts using the image of the star taken in Belfast and told to pay her legal costs of £919,000, a figure the judge said he found "startling".

Topshop owner Arcadia Group was ordered by Mr Justice Birss to pay £200,000 of this within 14 days, even though he found the size of her bill "somewhat surprising".

Mr Justice Birss ruled that it was "right and fair" that "style icon" Rihanna should be granted an injunction to prevent any future similar wrong use of the "unflattering" image.

Rihanna had also sought the return of any unsold Topshop T-shirts, but the court in Central London heard that all 12,000 had been sold, except five kept for the legal action.

The singer, behind hits such as Umbrella and Diamonds, is tied into a deal with Topshop's high street rivals River Island, so the judge ruled the Topshop T-shirt would be damaging to the style icon's goodwill and a loss to her merchandising business.

"It also represents a loss of control over her reputation in the fashion sphere," added the judge.

Last week, it was reported Rihanna has rekindled her romance with the English model, Dudley O'Shaughnessy, who played her love interest in the We Found Love video.

STORY SO FAR

Singer Robyn Rihanna Fenty aka Rihanna was born in Saint Michael, Barbados, in 1988. She has released seven albums and won a series of awards. She filmed the video for We Found Love in Belfast in 2011. The song went on to reach the number one spot in 25 countries. Topshop has just been ordered to stop selling T-shirts baring an unauthorised image of Rihanna taken in Belfast.