Fat-Shamed Axl Rose Issues Copyright Violation Notices Over Internet Memes

Axl Rose is known for many things, mostly due to his singing talents. He’s spent decades as the Guns N’ Roses frontman and most recently, Rose has hit the tour circuit with AC/DC, serving as that band’s lead singer while their own Brian Johnson recovers from ear injuries, but there’s more to Axl Rose than just a good voice. Much, much more, according to a sizable collection of internet memes. The memes are based on a picture of the Guns N’ Roses singer taken in 2010, during the musician’s “Fat Axl” phase, and after six years of fat shaming, it seems Rose has had his fill.

Guns N’ Roses Frontman Axl Rose Issues A DMCA Copyright Notice To Google

The original photograph upon which the memes are based was taken by a Winnipeg Free Press photographer and accompanied an article about an area Guns N’ Roses performance, but it didn’t take long for the media to take notice of Axl’s weight gain and build up hype around the issue. Soon, the internet was flooded with memes created with the image, all ridiculing Rose’s weight gain.

Now, it’s 2016 and Axl Rose is in better shape and re-emerging as a rock and roll force to be reckoned with, but it seems those old memes are interfering with Axl’s attempts to rebrand himself. Rose has had his lawyers working overtime to issue DMCA notices for each and every “Fat Axl” meme found on Google image searches, demanding that the pictures be removed from the search engine giant.

“Copyright image of Axl Rose,” read the notices, filed by Mr. Rose via Web Sheriff. “Please note that no permission has been granted to publish the copyright image so we cannot direct you to an authorized example of it.”

Who Really Owns The Rights To The Original Axl Rose Image?

While it might seem that Axl Rose would own the rights to any images in which he is featured, the legal authority lies with the photographer of the original image, Winnipeg Free Press photographer Boris Minkevich. Upon being contacted about the “Fat Axl” memes, Minkevich directed all inquiries to his supervisor, Winnipeg Free Press photography and multimedia director Mike Aporius, who confirmed that the paper does hold the rights to the image and added that there has never been any authorization given for third party usage of the picture.

“We were only recently made aware of these memes,” Aporius said, “and while we ethically don’t approve, viral media is impossible for us to regulate. Welcome to the jungle.”

That might have settled the matter, except that Web Sheriff has disputed the claim made by Aporius and has affirmed Axl Rose’s ownership of the image.

“…all official / accredited photographers at [Axl Rose] shows sign-off on ‘Photography Permission’ contracts / ‘Photographic Release’ agreements which A. specify and limit the manner in which the photos can be exploited and B. transfer copyright ownership in such photos to AR’s relevant service company.”

If Axl Rose is determined to have the “Fat Axl” image removed from the internet, it’s beginning to look as though he will have to pursue litigation to first determine exactly who does own the rights to the picture. Even then, the Guns n Roses singer may find himself facing a seemingly unwinnable battle. Many celebrities have come before Axl, seeking to have unwanted or unflattering pictures scoured from the internet. Among them are the Foo Fighters and Beyoncé, more recently.

Probably the most famous case of a celebrity trying to get images deleted from the internet is the case of Barbara Streisand, who, in 2003, fought to have aerial images of her mansion removed. The pictures were taken as a part of a survey project and might have gone unnoticed by Streisand’s millions of fans, had she not turned the issue into a sensationalized public trial. In the end, the pictures remained online and the incident resulted in celebrities taking similar actions being termed as “The Streisand Effect.”

[Image by Ethan Miller/Getty Images]