As Google apologizes, bizarre Michelle Obama pictures abound online
By Peter Grier | 11.25.09
Google has apologized for a racially offensive depiction of Michelle Obama that has appeared when users of the popular search engine look for pictures of the first lady on its site.
The depiction itself has become much harder to find, as well. As of Tuesday morning, Hot Girls, the name of the blog that hosted the doctored photo, seemed to have removed it from its site.
But one lesson from this contretemps might be that in the Internet Age it has become very difficult for iconic celebrities to control the uses to which their images are put. Just look at all the other pictures of Michelle Obama that are still available online. They contain some pretty strange items. Here are five:
Pancake Michelle. Dan Lacey, an artist who calls himself “Painter of Pancakes,” has produced a number of portraits of the first lady wearing a pancake on her head.
Perhaps the most unusal of these purports to be an homage to the great singer Josephine Baker. It depicts Michelle Obama performing in the nude with a pink dolphin while wearing a skirt made out of bananas.
Angry Michelle. The same unflattering stock photo is used throughout the Internet to illustrate negative posts or articles about her by her critics. Here’s what it looks like.
Tied-up Michelle. Last year a liberal blogger created an image of the first lady that showed her tied up and threatened by the Ku Klux Klan. It was intended as a dig at the far right but has spread widely on the Internet and is used as an illustration for many different kinds of commentaries.
Glamorous Michelle. As a glamorous figure, Michelle Obama is often sketched by designers who want to show what they think she should wear. Her actual clothing is also of great interest to many women. Some post photos of the first lady with commentary as to where the items she is wearing can be bought.
Dating Michelle. For Barack Obama, this may be the scariest picture of all. It is a high school photo of 18-year-old Michelle attending her prom, with a date who is not the future president of the United States.
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See also:
At White House, music to Michelle Obama’s ears
Veterans Day: Michelle Obama launches community network for vets
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Jimmy Orr has worked in politics for the majority of his professional career working for two U.S. Senators, two Governors and one President. Most recently, Orr served as White House Spokesman and Internet Director for President George W. Bush and Special Advisor to Governor Schwarzenegger for Internet Communications.
David Cook is Washington bureau chief of The Christian Science Monitor and host of the Monitor's newsmaker breakfasts. He was the Monitor's editor from 1994 to 2001. Cook is a graduate of Principia College, served in the U.S. Army, was a Bagehot Fellow at Columbia University, and is a member of the Gridiron Club, Washington's oldest journalistic organization.
