After the allegations made against him in the past couple of weeks, it is rather unsurprising that fashion photographer Terry Richardson would be upset by the rumours flying around the fashion circuit currently. Hitting back against claims made by models Rie Rasmussen and Jamie Peck, Richardson addressed the issue on his blog on Saturday.

"I just want to take a moment to say I’m really hurt by the recent and false allegations of insensitivity and misconduct. I feel fortunate to work with so many extraordinary people each and every day. I’ve always been considerate and respectful of the people I photograph and I view what I do as a real collaboration between myself and the people in front of the camera. To everyone who has embraced and supported me and my work, I am so grateful. Thank you, it means a lot. Terry"

The American photographer made the comment on his blog, Terry's Diary, despite his New York office refusing to comment on the revelations. As Fashionista pointed out, photographs of Richardson "grabbing models breasts and posing with his thumb up and a grin next to bare asses" were removed from his blog as the statement went up. As the saga continues, it will be interesting to see how his next shoot pans out...

In under a week, Terry Richardson has become the most talked about fashion photographer of the moment - and for once in his career, it was for all the wrong reasons. First, Rie Rasmussen publicly expressed her disgust at his method of work, opening a can of worms as more models came clean about their experiences with the famous photographer - shockingly most were claims of inappropriately sexual behaviour.

In a surprising turn of events, however, model and New Moon actress Noot Seear came to Richardson's defence at a silent auction at Milk Studios, held for Rose Charities to help victims of Haiti. "Terry's a really cool guy. It's not like he pressures you into doing anything you're not comfortable with," she explained defensively. "There's something very beautiful, very raw about it and I'm glad that there is a photographer out there that does work like that". Seear had worked with Terry, however the shoot was uncharacteristically clothed for the photographer who is renowned for his sexy editorials, in which models are usually scantily clad. We can't help think, then, that her view may be rather shaded, and nothing to do with the original print he donated to the auction that took place on Thursday.

When Jezebel's Jenna Sauers opened her email inbox to anyone with a sexual abuse allegation against Terry Richardson, she might not have expected the flood of stories she got. Although Richardson claims his innocence ("I don't like to exploit anybody. That's not my bag. Everyone has fun on my shoots."), an increasing number of members from all levels of the fashion industry are coming forward to say they've felt violated by the photographer, or that they know someone who has.

We had no idea where to start here, so consider these stories. First, a report from a woman who modelled in London in the late '90s: "I was booked on a Terry Richardson job for Arena Homme Plus. The shoot was at an amusement park, and I would estimate that there were 30 models in total [...] and we were told that all of us would be given an opportunity to shoot a cover try. Being familiar with Mr. Richardson's.....peccadillos, many of the models were eager to please; pleasing in this instance consisted primarily of pulling down pants, pulling up skirts, losing blouses, and a bit of finger sucking thrown in for good measure. It seemed painfully clear to me that the phantom lure of a cover try was sufficient reason for a handful of young women with waning career prospects to humiliate themselves in front of each other while Terry Richardson giggled, panted, said 'That's hot,' and pushed them further. During lunch, I approached him and asked him if he had any moral quandaries about exploiting the sad dreams of models who hadn't yet made it and probably never would. I asked him if he realized that they were enacting what they believed were his expectations and fantasies in order to gain his favor and hence gain a cover or a future booking. 'I don't really think about that stuff,' he told me. 'I guess you're smarter than me.'"

Read more after the jump

Just four days ago, model Rie Rasmussen spoke openly of her disdain for fashion photographer Terry Richardson, branding his work "completely degrading to women". The outburst continued at a party where Rasmussen voiced her opinions directly to Richardson, resulting in him walking out. "It was the most cowardly thing I have ever seen", she concluded.

Adding to the humiliation, Jamie Peck has come forward about her experience with Richardson, and whilst Peck admits that she's "not a model, just a vain girl with nice tits who likes to pose for the occasional cheesecake photo", and yet despite being experienced in 'au naturel', wrote "He's the only one who’s left me feeling like I needed to take two showers." Her post for The Gloss continues to describe her time on a shoot with the famous photographer, who asked her to call him Uncle Terry and reportedly got her to perform sexual favours, before offering a signed photograph as payment.

"Before I could say “whoa, whoa, whoa!” dude was wearing only his tattoos and waggling the biggest dick I’d ever seen dangerously close to my unclothed person (granted, I hadn’t seen very many yet). “Why don’t you take some pictures of me?” he asked. Um, sure." Unbeknown to Peck, the photographs from the shoot wound up in Purple magazine, which is edited by Richardson's associate, Olivier Zahm. With The Cut making comparisons between the photographer and the recent Tiger Woods revelations, we wonder how many more models will be coming out of the woodworks with their sordid experiences...

Terry Richardson has worked for everyone from H&M to Pinko to Rolling Stone magazine. Most recently, the photographer has been in the limelight for the sexy editorial he shot which featured Abbey Lee Kershaw, Magdalena Frackowiak, Eniko Mihalik and Freja Beha Erichsen touching each other all scantily clad.

Despite Abbey Lee praising him recently, it looks like Rie Rasmussen does not share her sentiments. "He takes girls who are young, manipulates them to take their clothes off and takes pictures of them they will be ashamed of. They are too afraid to say no because their agency booked them on the job and are too young to stand up for themselves," she told Page Six. "His 'look' is girls who appear underage, abused, look like heroin addicts...I don't understand how anyone works with him."

The drama didn't end there. At a recent party in Paris, she decided to voice her opinions to him directly. "I told him what you do is completely degrading to women. I hope you know you only [bleep] girls because you have a camera, lots of fashion contacts and get your pictures in Vogue," she said. "Instead of arguing with me, Terry ran out of the bar. Then the next day, he called my agency and complained I called him names in front of clients in Paris. It was the most cowardly thing I have ever seen."

Something tells us this isn't over.