By DANIELLE LONG, ABC News

Jennifer Hudson may have to pay a hefty price for an Instagram photo she posted back in December. 

According to Page Six, a lawsuit was filed on Wednesday against the 38-year-old American Idol alum by New York photographer Fernando Ramales for posting his photo, despite it being of her, without asking his permission or crediting him.

The picture in question was sold to a news site who used said photo in a story that ran on December 21.  On New Year’s Eve, that picture popped up on Hudson’s social media without the watermark. 

The post, which remains on the social media site, shows the Dream Girls star rocking a shimmery pink blazer with a tan turtleneck top, tan knee-high boots, and a furry hot pink clutch. 

She captioned the snapshot, “Me walking out of 2019 into 2020 like ….just as grateful as I can be ! Thank u Lord for all you’ve done for me ! I hope u all find your joy in the new year !” 

Ramales is seeking up to $175,000 in compensation plus attorneys’ fees for the alleged copyright infringement. His lawyer, Richard Liebowitz, explained the importance of seeking justice for this matter. 

“More and more celebrities are using social media to reach out to their fans to promote their brand by using photographs,” he said. “But Ms. Hudson and her company did not get the proper permissions to use the photograph, and they also cropped out the photographer’s watermark identifying him as the copyright holder. You simply can’t do that.”

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