He's "Vile" and "Disgusting": Mom Unleashes Lawyers on Racist Iowa Rep. Steve King
February 3rd 2020
Steve King (Gage Skidmore)
By Marissa Higgins
If you’ve spent time on the internet in the last decade, you’ve likely come across a viral meme sometimes described as the “success kid.” The meme features a little boy at the beach who looks extremely pleased with himself and appears to be making a celebratory fist. It’s adorable, wholesome, and as GOP Rep. Steve King likely just learned, copyrighted. When the little boy’s mother, Laney Griner, discovered her son’s face was used in one of King’s campaign ads, she was, as she told The Washington Post in an interview, “filled with rage.” Now, she says she’s working with a legal team to make King and his campaign take down the image and apologize.
Here is her original tweet that features King’s ad.
As well as her recent follow-ups.
“I don’t want anyone thinking I was willing to accept any amount of money for them to use it,” Griner, who told the Post she’s a liberal, continued to the news outlet. “There’s no amount of money I would take for that. … We stay away from negative attachments, and this is about as negative as you can get in my mind.”
According to what Griner’s lawyer told the Post, King has until Wednesday, Jan. 29, to take action. Otherwise, Griner will move forward and sue both King’s campaign and his fundraising site.
As BuzzFeed News reports, Griner gave permission to former President Barack Obama to use the image back in 2013 to promote immigration reform. Vice reports that Griner granted permission to Hot Topic, Vitamin Water, and Radio Shack, among others in the past.
If you’re curious about the boy in the ad, he’s not a “fan” of Trump, either. “He’s basically been a meme for as long as he knows. But once he hit 12, 13 it was just like, an embarrassment for him,” Griner told GQ when the publication asked how her son felt about King using his likeness. “He watches the news with us and he definitely is not a fan of Trump or what this party is about.”
As Daily Kos has covered many times, King is a racist. He defends white supremacy and promotes neo-Nazi content. He is fiercely anti-immigrant. He’s made bizarre comments on rape, incest, and abortion. Perhaps the one spot of joy in it all is that King once held a town hall where only two people showed up. Oh—And that a progressive is running to oust him in 2020.
Posted with permission