'Haven't received a penny for a single story': Humans of New York founder hits back at Humans of Bombay for reducing art to a 'product'
copyright row between the popular photoblog Humans Of New York and its Indian replica Humans Of Bombay seems to have escalated further.
Brandon Stanton, the founder of Humans Of New York, recently took a dig at the desi version.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), the writer-photographer made an oblique reference to an “ongoing court case involving my work, but which thankfully doesn't involve me,” referring to the copyright infringement row, and then went on to call out Humans Of Bombay for commercialising the art of storytelling. “For the last thirteen years I haven't received a penny for a single story told on Humans of New York, despite many millions offered. All my income has come from books of my work, speeches I have given, and Patreon,” he tweeted.
He then pointed out that when art becomes solely for profit, it becomes a product. “Beautiful art can make money, there is nothing wrong with that. But when art begins with a profit motive, it ceases to become art. And becomes a product,” he wrote.
Many X users came out in support of the author and also heavily censured Humans Of Bombay CEO Karishma Mehta. “The difference between @humansofny & @HumansOfBombay is comically dystopian. Brandon could have easily been a billionaire by now. He only «monetizes» his HoNY fame to raise funds for others. Karishma is aggressively & arrogantly entitled about wanting to make a lot of money,” wrote an X user.
Meanwhile, the X handle of the Mumbai-based photoblog has reached out to Stanton. In a post, it claimed that the suit was related to IP (Intellectual Property) and not storytelling.
Where It All Began
The entire row began with a lawsuit filed by HOB against another storytelling portal People Of India, accusing it of ripping
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