This morning we received an email from someone claiming to be Christopher Judges, a figure from famous fashion photographer/perv Terry Richardson’s youth. He would like to tell you a little bit their history and the man Uncle Terry has become.
Even if you read New York Magazine‘s June 15th profile of Richardson and kept up with the ensuing fallout (the article was less than perfect and not entirely well-received) over the past couple of weeks, Judges’ name may not ring a bell. He only got a brief mention in the piece:
When Terry was 14, he swallowed 40 pills; his stomach was pumped again. Then his mother decided to move north to Ojai and pull her son out of Hollywood High. This “shattered” Terry, according to Christopher Judges, a friend at the time. He got into punk rock, playing bass in a band called Invisible Government of the World and writing a song called “What Is Love? Love Is Pain.”
This morning out of nowhere, a totally unsolicited email landed in our inbox from Judges (we looked into it and it checked out). He would like to tell you a bit more about himself and his time with Richardson.
Ben wallace interviewed me for two and a half hours about T R ‘s early days for new york magazine I was T Rs father figure from about 14 to 21years I think TR resented his mother having her accident and his father being skitzo and deserting him. It should be noted TR changed after being around his father.
When I knew TR he was a great guy but he has hurt so many people who helped him
TR is a mimic and would appear to show an antisocial personality disorder
Christopher Judges
A pretty random email to suddenly appear in your inbox nearly two weeks after the article’s publication, but okay — just a little armchair analysis to go with all the allegations of Richardson’s sexually predatory behavior.
Judges also included several pictures of a young Terry Richardson.
At left, Judges and Richardson; to the right, Richardson’s high school prom portrait. No doubt Uncle Terry would have preferred his prom night to have been captured in front of a glaring white background and given a high contrast finish — maybe even throw in a dick, or at least some nipples — but the American Prom Experience isn’t always about getting what you want. (It is, however, about wearing all the scarf you want.)
Next up, Richardson’s musical years with his band Invisible Government of the World.
On the left, Richardson’s playing bass and standing next to the drummer. In the black and white image, he’s crouching in the front row. The blonde years, as it were.
Time for a musical break! Here’s an Invisible Government video; you can get a decent look at Richardson struttin’ with his bass at about 3:13.
This one feels particularly haunting. The implication seems to be that Richardson’s signature style was influenced by Judges — Judges did call him a “mimic” — though being that dude’s inspiration for anything probably isn’t the sort of thing you’d want to shout from the rooftops.
We followed up with Judges to see if he had anything to add to his original email, but he has yet to respond. UPDATE: Judges had more to say; you can read the full email here.
Lead image via AP.