LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) Kelleth Cuthbert, aka the “Fiji Water girl” who stole the pre-show at the Golden Globes for finding her way into practically every Getty image, is suing the bottled water company for what she says is an unauthorized use of her image.
Cuthbert became one of the first memes of 2019 for photobombing the red carpet at the Beverly Hilton hotel Jan. 6. See 30 of the photos here.
Cuthbert claimed there were cameras everywhere and it was impossible to not be in a photo as she kept the stars hydrated. She claims that on Jan. 8, Fiji tried to negotiate an agreement with her agent to place cardboard cutouts of her at various markets around Tinseltown but she claims that, the day before, someone had already taken a photo of the cutout at a Bristol Farms in West Hollywood with John Legend pushing a shopping cart.
Cuthbert claims in documents obtained by The Blast that one day after the Globes, Fiji Water “intentionally created cardboard cutouts of Steinbach for use in a cardboard cutout marketing campaign.” She also claims pressured her “into video recording a fake signing of a fake document to simulate Steinbach signing on as a Fiji Water Ambassador.”
Cuthbert, real name Kelly Steinbach, believes she has generated $12 million worth of brand exposure and wants to stop the use of the cardboard cutouts and is seeking monetary damages.
“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,” Fiji told The Blast, adding, “We are confident that we will prevail in Court. Throughout our history, we have had a sterling reputation working with talent.”
