Victoria Beckham Considering Legal Action Against Restaurant Over 'Defamatory' Anorexic Pizza Ad
08/31/2017 03:52 pm EDT
Victoria Beckham is reportedly considering legal action after a restaurant used her name and likeness in a demeaning manner to sell a product, Fox News reports.
The ad in question comes from Sidhu Golden Fish and Chips in Tyneside, England and features a scary-skinny cartoon version of Beckham wearing a bikini, holding an apple and wearing a sash that reads "Anorexic Fashion Icon." The delivery van also promotes the restaurant's "Victoria Beckham Thin Crust" pizza, which is described as "only 2 mm thin!!"
"It is highly inappropriate to trivialize such a disorder, and defamatory to be so thoughtless with a person's reputation in this way, therefore we are seeking legal advice," a spokesperson for Beckham said.
In a statement to iTV, the restaurant's manager, Soni Sidhu, said he is "genuinely horrified if anyone was genuinely offended" by the ad, adding that it was "offered as a fun way to make people smile, and to escape from the daily hustle and bustle of life."
"As the manager and on the behalf of all our staff and owners I would like to state we recognize how serious eating disorders are and would never make light the seriousness of people with eating disorders," he continued.
Sidhu did not confirm whether he would remove the advertisement.
"If, in 2017 Britain, we are asked to take down this advert it will be a sad day for freedom of expression," he said.
Photo Credit: Getty / Noam Galai
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