Tyler Shields, the decapitation of Trump and stolen inspiration

We've seen this so often that we have an entire section named Badland, usually to discuss the copying of ideas - everything from media ideas to banner ideas. But straight up image copies happen too, like when Madonna was sued for copying Guy Bodain, and a Dexim ad copied the exact look of a Jamie Nelson photograph. It is in that context that I'd like to discuss Tyler Shields. As you may know, Shields is the photographer who just harpooned Kathy Griffin's career by making her pose with Donald Trump's disembodied head. While Ms Griffin has been canned from her annual CNN new Years Eve job, had her spokesperson career for Squatty Potty halted and had comedy events cancelled, nobody seems to have paid much attention to the photographer behind the image.
One could high-brow it and argue that the severed head image is a reference to Judith with the Head of Holofernes, or maybe it's a photographic response to the Der Spiegel cartoon cover. Perhaps it is as simple as just being inspired by ISIS recent images of beheadings that have crept into our collective unconscious for years now. But no matter how you look at Tyler Shields' body of work, you'll and up noticing after a while that the images all feel quite familiar. Even straight up copied, but staged.
Tyler Shields created "The Suspense series" long after Ryan McGinley established his falling people look, which he's used in everything from fashion shoots to billboard art installations.
Henry Leutwyler has even called Tyler Shields out on Instagram, for his "pointe" photo of a ballerinas feet that looks like a direct copy of Henry's photograph of same. He has gotten no response.