Model claims Victorias Secret bought rights to just a sliver of her face then used almost all of it

Victoria’s Secret allegedly showed nearly all of a model’s face in an Instagram perfume ad after agreeing to keep her unrecognizable — then pulled the post without paying her extra, according to a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles federal court.Sydney Roper claims the lingerie giant hired her as an “Unrecognizable/Parts Model” for a 2026 campaign and expressly agreed that any partial view of her face would show less than 30%, according to the complaint filed on Tuesday.Instead, Victoria’s Secret published an Instagram video that showed roughly 95% of Roper’s face, including one eye, her nose and lips, making her recognizable, she alleges.The suit claims the ad exceeded both a numerical limit on facial exposure and a broader agreement that Roper would remain unrecognizable.Roper’s agency, Closeup Models Agency, booked her for the April 3 shoot at a rate of $1,000 for four hours plus a 20% agency fee, according to paperwork attached to the complaint.The agency’s deal memo checked off hands, legs, lips and abs/torso among the body parts covered by the booking, while leaving the “Face” and “Eyes” boxes unchecked.In a separate email attached to the filing, Victoria’s Secret representative Kyle Kinnare told the agency that “all will remain unrecognizable” and listed “Partial face (less than 30%)” along with Roper’s nose, lips and “hands/arm.”Roper claims those restrictions were violated when Victoria’s Secret later featured her prominently in a perfume video on its Instagram account.Her agency contacted the company on Sept.4 after Roper discovered the post, according to an email included as an exhibit.“We have a problem – Sydney just found this post on Victoria Secret’s instagram (linked below) where she is fully recognizable,” agency representative Claire Applewood wrote.The agency demanded “an additional recognizable talent fee of $2500 +20%” and warned that “In the future, this needs to be flagged before posting.”...