Apparently my photo from the Lucy in the Sky cardi is being used on a very shady site as a “before” photo for a weight loss gimmick. Yep. Not my face, luckily, and the “after” photo is probably just stolen as well. (The “after” photo doesn’t even have the same hair colour as me.)
Changing the link to the photo probably won’t do anything since the photo’s been taken (saved) and manipulated. The “contact” page doesn’t work.
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.
Ideas?
Comments
24 responses to “um. what?!?!!”
That stinks!
Find any contact info you can – email, web forms, mailing addresses. Contact the ISP, whomever registered the domain name, etc., and just blanket them all with letters threatening legal action. You don’t even need to have a lawyer lined up, just let them know if they don’t take it down, they’ll be hearing from your legal counsel.
Laura, my dear. I somehow never pictured you as a “before”. You are far too cute, and not big!
Now, me, on the other hand…
HA!
Leslie – knitting therapist
:-( thats awful, I’m sorry. You shouldn’t be a ‘before’, the some internet people are just mean.
That’s insulting on many levels. And you looked great in that cardy. Don’t let some idiot, photo-stealing scammer site tell you otherwise.
I agree with Toni. Sounds like good advice.
WTF?!? That’s so wrong. I’m sorry those crappy people have no respect. You are totally awesome!
grrr! that is awful. jerks. if i come up w/ something. i’ll get back to you! humm… good luck!
That’s totally crazy! You aren’t ‘before’ photo material in the slightest. Truly. You look fantastic in that cardigan. Not to mention the fact that what they have done cannot possibly be legal.
I would look them up on whois.net and see what you can find out about where they are based… hopefully there might be a phone number, and you should definitely write them some official looking letters. You could also try asking a lawyer (one of the many on Ravelry would surely be willing to help?) to find out the exact grounds on which they are breaking the law, just so that your letter can be as serious and scary sounding as possible.
Urgh, though.. that’s so horrible…
Mah! What they made is bad!! And you’re not fat! Some people are really nasty…
I suggest the better business bureau and posting to The Consumerist:
http://consumerist.com/
Not only did they steal your photos, but you have proof they are using false advertising.
I encourage you to blow the whistle on these people. There are so many scams out there. It makes me made so many get away with it.
How insulting in so many ways. I agree with the pps that you should contact a lawyer and report these losers.
The Internet is totally your bully these days!! Hope you get this squared away…I’d offer help but I’m computer stupid.
agree with previous posters, do a whois lookup and contact the ISP about a copyright violation. demand it be taken down or else you’ll seek legal action.
you are SO not a before, laura.
seriously?!!?! that is NOT cool – good luck with finding out what you can do about it.
That really ticks me off for you. I would threaten with legal action as well. You can sue for use of a copyrighted picture as well as damages to you.
Grrr.
(By the way, you are totally pretty and a great size.)
Yes, do everything you can to at least threaten legal action – there are plenty of knitbloggers who are also attorneys, who I’m sure would be happy to tell you how/what you can do.
And as far as the “before” and “after” stuff, I hope you won’t let that aspect bother you. I was reading a magazine at the dr’s office the other day, which said that when Carrie Underwood won American Idol, she was so “heavy” at a size 8 that she worked out like crazy to become a size 2 – at which people were *so* relieved that she had gotten her act together!! So I’m sure that somewhere there are “before” and “after” pictures of her, too …
Some people just suck.
You are beautiful. For someone to do that to you is criminal. Threatening legal action is always a good way to go.
What jerks! I second that you should contact The Consumerist – maybe they’ll find some way ’round the contact crap!
And you are super-cute, definitley not a before – they’re lying everywhere on that page!
that is so messed up! i would definitely threaten legal action. maybe check out one of the law groups on ravelry, and ask for advice.
and i hope the “before” stuff isn’t getting you down. girl, you are adorable and just perfect!
What kind of flippin’ idiot would use you as a “before”?!
I’m sure you’re too bright to be all that offended, but let me add to the flood of support: you’re beautiful and look fantastic in that sweater (I’m a skinny thing and would love to have your girly curves).
What in God’s name is wrong with this world when you’re a ‘before’?!?!?! You look so gorgeous in that cardigan… that’s just wrong. I can’t really offer any legal counsel or anything, but still, wanted to say that that’s completely ridiculous.
that’s just insane. i definitely would take some legal action on them. how f’in random though! i’m so sorry. that’s just not right!!
sue the crap out of them. they’re so shady that who knows maybe you’re uncovering a front of some sort!
Thats awful. I don’t have any ideas for you though.
That is terrible!
You should be able to do a domain name look-up search on domain name registration website like godaddy.com or networksolutions.com to find out who owns the site. From there you might be able to get working contact info and can write a cease and desist letter asking for them to remove the photo which is clearly stolen or else legal action could be taken. And definitely try to report the site owners to the host company as most have agreements that would be violated by this sort of behavior.
I am not a lawyer, but through my job I found that sometimes mentioning legal action gets things done (as it can be expensive for all involved). At the very least you should contact a lawyer to find out options.
Good luck!