“Do I Look Good With These Dumbells?” – Tiger Woods in Vanity Act

January 5, 2010

tiger woods vanity fair cover

Only yesterday we were mulling over the means by which Tiger Woods might seek to restore his image. His PRs certainly have work to do, but what to make of their client’s appearance on the front cover of February’s Vanity Fair?

As the Independent has it: “The images, taken by Annie Liebovitz, which show [Woods] almost naked with a dumbell in each hand, were apparently taken before he was exposed as a love cheat.”

We are curious as to legal niceties. How long before scandal engulfed Woods’ life did the Liebovitz shoot take place? Was is so far away that Woods had, by the time he found himself in the media for all the wrong reasons, signed away any and all rights to copy approval? Liebovitz is a huge name in art and photography, but even she, acting on behalf of Vanity Fair, would almost certainly have had to consent to a celebrity of Woods’ stature having copy approval over her images. So did Woods sign away his rights before the scandal, or afterwards? If the latter, knowing of magazine lead times, his advisors must have been going through the small print in the midst of the hullabaloo. Which, in turn, would mean that the Vanity Fair appearance is the first salvo in Woods’ attempt to regain public affection.

Picture courtesy of Flickr user areynolds520.

 

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Supreme Court on Twitter

February 6, 2012

Something remarkable happened today. Yes, the Supreme Court launched its Twitter feed. It even has a Twitter policy, one of caveats, disclaimers and little by way of illumination but regardless: who would have thought that the successor body to the House of Lords would stoop to engage with the world of tweets, hashtags and retweets?

We look forward to the day when court business will be conducted via Twitter. Meantime, check out this link for an excellent blog on the Supreme Court.

Not so right said Fred

February 2, 2012
fred hat

So Farewell, then, Sir Fred Goodwin.

Now you are just Fred.

Not Right Said Fred, but plain Fred.

The Forfeiture Committee did for you.

No one had heard of it before,

But Dave said it had to act, and it did.

Trouble is that no one knows what to think.

Is it ‘Alas, poor Fred‘,

Or ‘Hurray! Sir Fred is dead!’?

We don’t know.

Do you?

By A. Mob, aged 1,378 and a half.

London Goes AWOL

January 31, 2012
CNN

STOP PRESS:

Fed up with being stuck on the Thames in south-east England, London yesterday decided to move. In a dramatic gesture which augurs ill for the Olympics, the city upped sticks and relocated to East Anglia.

Lawyers were not consulted about the move, and the city’s precise motivation remains unclear. However, financiers fear that London’s decision is a sign that it wishes to downsize. Moreover, a source from London said: “We no longer want to be Britain’s seat of power. If the Scots can deregulate, why can’t we? East Anglia is a nice place where nothing happens. It’s time for a quiet life. Please respect our right to privacy.”

Elsewhere, Birmingham did not do anything, but Manchester was seen to be packing its bags. “There’s an opportunity for us,” said Manchester. “We can become London.”

East Anglia said: “We don’t mind. It’ll be refreshing to be associated with something other than fens and flatness.”

A cartologist at CNN, which broke the extraordinary news, was later fired.