Popular photoblog Humans of New York posted this picture today on their Facebook, which already has over 20,000 shares:
With this caption attached to the photo:
I am a street photographer in New York City. Several months ago, I was approached by a representative of DKNY who asked to purchase 300 of my photos to hang in their store windows "around the world." They offered me $15,000. A friend in the industry told me that $50 per photo was not nearly enough to receive from a company with hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue. So I asked for more money. They said "no."
Today, a fan sent me a photo from a DKNY store in Bangkok. The window is full of my photos. These photos were used without my knowledge, and without compensation.
I don't want any money. But please SHARE this post if you think that DKNY should donate $100,000 on my behalf to the YMCA in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. That donation would sure help a lot of deserving kids go to summer camp. I'll let you guys know if it happens.
People are now sharing the Facebook photo all over the comments of DKNY's posts:
DKNY hasn't made an official statement on any of their social media channels, but the comments are pouring in. So far DKNY's Twitter has been silent on the matter:
UPDATE: DKNY has apologized and is donating $25,000 to the YMCA in Bedford-Stuyvesant Brooklyn in Stanton's name.