Model 'shaking with rage' after spotting crucial missing detail in body positivity ad
A model says she is “shaking with rage” after learning her photo was used without permission in a body positivity campaign launched by the Spanish government last week.
To make matters worse, Sian Green-Lord says her prosthetic leg has been edited out of the ad, which encourages women to love their bodies.
The campaign was launched by the government’s Equality Ministry and the Institute for Women on Thursday with the release of a poster featuring women of different races and sizes in bathing suits on a beach.
“Summer is also ours,” the slogan reads.
Ms Green-Lord, a motivational speaker from the UK, can be seen in the bottom left wearing a white bathing suit.
Model: ‘It’s beyond wrong’
The mum told the BBC on Friday she didn’t know her holiday snap had been used in the campaign until friends started messaging her about it.
In a video posted to her Instagram, the 33-year-old said she began “shaking with rage” after seeing the image had been edited to remove her prosthetic leg and alter her swimsuit.
“I don't know how to even explain the amount of anger that I'm feeling right now,” she said.
“There's one thing using my image without my permission. But there's another thing editing my body.
“I literally don't even know what to say but it's beyond wrong,” the mum, who lost her leg after being hit by a taxi while on holiday in NYC in 2013, vented.
Ms Green-Lord is the second model featured in the poster to slam the Spanish government for taking her photo without permission.
Nyome Nicholas-Williams told the BBC she was stunned to see an image from her Instagram account had been included and edited to make it appear like she is wearing a gold bikini.
After complaining online, she said she was contacted by the artist responsible — Arte Mapache — who apologised and offered compensation.
“They said they used my image because they were running low on time,” Ms Nicholas-Williams said.
Artist apologises after backlash
Arte Mapache has also issued an apology online following the heavy backlash.
After the “justified controversy”, the illustrator said they had decided to pay all of the models involved.
“I hope to be able to solve all this as soon as possible. I accept my mistakes and that is why I am now trying to repair the damage caused,” they said.
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“For the moment I am going to stay away from social networks and try to solve this matter privately with the parties involved.”
The Institute for Women also issued an apology on Twitter on Saturday.
“In relation to the poster 'Summer is also ours', we want to clarify that at no time were we aware that they were real models,” a spokesperson said.
“We are resolving this with the author and we are going to contact the models to resolve this issue. We apologise for the damage caused.”
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