In a hollywood-style turn of events, the unlikely star of this year’s Golden Globes,the Fiji Water girl, is suing Fiji Water for featuring her in an “unauthorised” marketing campaign.
Model Kelleth Cuthbert has taken legal action against Fiji Water Company and The Wonderful Company saying it created an unauthorised marketing campaign using her image without her permission.
Cuthbert made global headlines at last month’s Golden Globes after she photobombed unsuspecting celebrities on the red carpet while working as a promo model for Fiji Water.
To take advantage of the hype surrounding Cuthbert’s popularity at the Golden Globes, Fiji Water commenced an in-store campaign using her image in a cardboard cutout rolled out in American supermarkets.
Cuthbert claimed the brand approached her to sign off on the campaign, however she declined to take part.
While Cuthbert picked up work promoting dog food as well as a cameo on The Bold and the Beautiful following her Golden Globes fame, the relationship between her and Fiji Water became turbulent when the company began using her images without her permission.
Cuthbert also alleged Fiji Water tried to pressure her into signing a fake document authorising the use of her image.
A Fiji Water spokesperson said: “This lawsuit is frivolous and entirely without merit.
“After the Golden Globes social media moment, we negotiated a generous agreement with Ms Cuthbert that she blatantly violated.
“We are confident that we will prevail in court. Throughout our history, we have had a sterling reputation working with talent”.
