We had a lot of fun at the expense of Axl Rose when this photo surfaced a few years ago, showing the Guns N Roses frontman had put on some weight, and we took to calling him Fat Axl, or FAxl.
There were many other photos showing the weight gain, but this particular photo seems to have drawn the ire of Axl Rose's legal representation. Last week, we got a sternly worded cease-and-desist to take down the photograph. Since we did not own the rights to the photo, we complied. Turns out we were not the only ones.
Many sites today reported of similar takedown notices, and internet piracy watchdog TorrentFreak reports that Axl's lawyers have even served takedown notices to Google to remove the photo.
TorrentFreak pinpointed the origin of the photo to a Winnipeg Free Press article, where the photo is still displayed in all of its glory. TorrentFreak also contacted the man who took the photo, Boris Minkevich, who claims the Free Press never actually paid for his photo and stole it outright themselves, which is an interesting twist.
But is Axl within his rights? Yes, he is. Any photographer who shoots a major act knows they are usually required to sign a photo release which states that the photos can only appear on the media entity for which the photographer was credentialed and could not be sold for profit otherwise. TorrentFreak notes in some cases the artists have full control over how the photos are exploited, although in this case, it was so long ago, the original photographer does not remember if he signed such a release.
While some photos of celebrities, have been successfully scrubbed from the internet, we have a feeling this one won't go over as well, seeing as though there are thousands and thousands of Fat Axl Rose memes out there. So spread a meme, if only to piss off Axl.
