Image via Mashable.com
President Obama may never take another selfie again.
It may not be the most stressing item on his agenda, but the White House may be heading to court after a selfie taken by Boston Red Sox player David Ortiz inadvertently made the president a “pitchman” for Samsung, according to Korea Joongang Daily.
Ortiz had tweeted a selfie with Obama on April 1 with Samsung’s flagship phablet, the Galaxy Note 3, just like Ellen Degeneres at the Oscars in February. What the president didn’t know was that Ortiz had signed a deal with Samsung in recent months to be a social media ambassador for the company, which upset the White House when they found out.
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“As a rule, the White House objects to attempts to use the president’s likeness for commercial purposes,” said White House Press Secretary Jay Carney last Thursday. “And we certainly did in this case.”
The 2013 World Series Champions were visiting the White House on April 1, and Ortiz, the World Series MVP, took a selfie of himself and Obama after presenting a No. 44 jersey to the 44th U.S. president and tweeted it to his followers.
Like Ellen DeGeneres at the Oscars in February, Ortiz took the selfie with Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3, and Samsung Mobile U.S. was quick to retweet the photo to its more than 5.2 million Twitter followers.
The selfie in question. Via Twitter
“We were thrilled to see the special, historic moment David Ortiz captured with his Galaxy Note 3 during his White House visit,” Samsung said in a statement “It was an honor to help him capture such an incredible and genuine moment of joy and excitement.”
When the reactions to the selfie turned negative, however, Samsung denied any involvement, only that they had “worked with [Ortiz] and the team on how to share images with fans.” Ortiz also denied his photo was a calculated act or that he had received any instructions from Samsung.
“When people went crazy over that, you don’t get to see anything like that every day … It wasn’t anything promotional, anything like that,” he told the Boston Globe. I mean who knows that you’re going to take a picture with the president? How many people can guarantee that? It was something we don’t even have to talk about.”
White House senior advisor Dan Pfeiffer said the White House was talking to Samsung’s lawyers, stressing that Obama did not know Ortiz was associated with Samsung when he allowed the picture to be taken.
“Perhaps this will be the end of all selfies [with the president],” he warned.
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