Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose really doesn’t know the internet. For one thing, don’t ever make a big stink about getting photos of you taken down, because it’s just going to make the whole situation worse.

But that’s precisely what the (temporary?) AC/DC vocalist went and did recently, demanding Google remove an infamous and admittedly unflattering image of him at a 2010 concert, which was subsequently used for the ‘Fat Axl Rose’ meme.

The photo has become a popular point of ridicule for web users, with crafty meme-makers emblazoning the image with various tag-lines parodying titles and lyrics from GNR songs, such as “take me down to bakery city’.

As The Guardian reports, Rose claims the images are actually Rose’s own intellectual property, as per a release form that all photographers would have had to sign before they were allowed entry into the show.

Boris Minkevich, the Canadian photographer who originally took the snap and had it published in the Winnipeg Free Press, acknowledged to TorrentFreak that he has signed releases in the past, but can’t remember if he did so for that GNR show.

‘Fat Axl Rose’ Meme

Rose has issued Google with a DMCA request to have the images taken down, though he hasn’t made in public statement on just why he’s suddenly so interested in having them wiped from the internet, considering they’ve been up for six years.

But the irony of the situation is that by launching a campaign against the offending image and its subsequent memes, Rose has simply drawn further attention to them and sparked renewed interest in an old piece of web detritus.

A similar situation arose in 2013 after a publicist for Beyonce requested BuzzFeed take down photos of the singer performing at the Super Bowl. BuzzFeed‘s response? Publish a story titled ‘The “Unflattering” Photos Beyoncé’s Publicist Doesn’t Want You To See‘.

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