There’s a picture floating around out there on the ol’ internet. You’ve almost certainly seen it. It’s a photo of Axl Rose looking a little chubby. It has been turned into thousands of memes, with captions like “Daddy, what happened to Axl Rose? Sweets, child of mine” and “Take Me Down to the Bakery City”. Here is an [Eric’s] artist’s rendering of that photo:

axl

Why not just use the photo, you ask? Well, it turns out that Axl Rose does not like that photo. Not one little bit. And, more specifically, he hates what people have done with it, turning it into memes and such. And he is going after the people who post it.

Specifically, he has sent a cease and desist letter to Google, demanding that they remove the image, and all photos and memes poking fun at his weight. Notices sent on his behalf by Web Sheriff include the phrase “Copyright image of Axl Rose. Please be advised that no permission has been granted to publish the copyright image so we cannot direct you to an authorized example of it”.

The photos were taken by Boris Minkevich for the Winnipeg Free Press, but his representative says that all photographers at Guns N Roses events sign an agreement that states all photos taken are actually the property of Axl Rose and of GNR.

Will this attempt to sweep the internet clean of his fat photo work? We can’t say for sure. But if looking for precedent, see The Streisand Effect.