Barbra Streisand and the Photo That Went Everywhere

In 2003, photographer Kenneth Adelman photographed 12,000 miles of the California coastline for an environmental erosion study. Among those images was an aerial shot of a Malibu clifftop estate belonging to Barbra Streisand.

Early 2003, Photo Published Online: The aerial coastal photo sits quietly in a database of 12,000 images. It had been downloaded exactly 6 times, two of those by Streisand's own lawyers.

Feb 2003, Lawsuit Filed: Streisand sues Adelman and Pictopia.com for $50 million, demanding the photo be removed to protect her privacy.

Within Weeks, 420,000 Visitors: News of the lawsuit spreads. Nearly half a million people visit the site specifically to see the photo. The lawsuit is later dismissed.