Fat shaming or any kind of shaming for that matter is a prevalent problem in our society today. Even celebrities can be the victim of this type of bullying as evidenced by Guns N' Roses front man Axl Rose requesting for multiple "Fat Axl" meme pictures to be removed from the Internet.
According to reports from The Washington Post, multiple copyright claims have been sent by Axl Rose's representatives to Google in order to delete the photos, which spawned "Fat Axl," much to the rockstar's dismay. The meme began when Gauntlet, a heavy metal news site, caught wind of the unflattering photos when they were published along with a favorable Guns N' Roses concert review from The Winnipeg Free Press. They decided to run with a much different headline however in the form of: "OMFG Axl Rose is fat."
"Fat Axl" involves taking the lyrics of classic Guns N' Roses songs such as Sweet Child O' Mine and Paradise city and creating a parody of those using references to food. For example, the aforementioned songs have been parodied into "Sweet pie o' mine" and "Take me down to barbecue city." These parodies regularly appear on Twitter, says CNN.
However, placing copyright strikes and attempting to remove these "embarrassing" photos may not have the effect that Rose desires. A similar incident occurred with pop star Beyoncé's unflattering photos during the Super Bowl halftime show. Having the images removed only caused them to be even more sought after and widespread.
The photographer who took the photos of Axl Rose in question has told the press that he does not remember if he signed a release or not. Apparently, all photographers who take photos during Rose's concerts must sign a release assigning ownership of all the photographs taken of the Guns N' Roses front man.
