"Some school districts in the U.S. dropped plans for class pictures after widespread social media posts linked a billionaire with ties to Jeffrey Epstein to the photography giant Lifetouch, which on Friday called the claims "completely false." The disruption to school picture plans in Texas and elsewhere began after online posts linked Lifetouch, which photographs millions of students each year, to the investment fund manager Apollo Global Management."
"Both Lifetouch and Apollo noted that timeline in statements Friday, two days after Lifetouch CEO Ken Murphy said in an Instagram post that neither Black nor any of Apollo's directors or investors ever had any access to Lifetouch photos. "No Lifetouch executives have ever had any relationship or contact with Epstein and we have never shared student images with any third party, including Apollo," Lifetouch said in its statement Friday. "Apollo and its funds also have no role in Lifetouch's daily operations and have no access to student images.""
Social media posts linking Lifetouch to Apollo Global Management and former Apollo CEO Leon Black prompted some U.S. school districts to cancel class picture days. Lifetouch photographs millions of students and was acquired by funds managed by Apollo in a $2.7 billion deal that closed in September 2019. Lifetouch and Apollo stated that Apollo has no role in Lifetouch's daily operations and no access to student images. Lifetouch asserted no executives had relationships with Epstein and that student images were never shared with third parties. The cancellations followed public concern tied to released Epstein-related documents.
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