--- title: Axl Rose Seeks To Strip Internet of 'Fat' Meme description: The legendary Guns N' Roses frontman issued a takedown request to Google for an unflattering concert photo taken at show in 2010. canonical: https://time.com/4359819/axl-rose-internet-fat-meme/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-07T15:49:55.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:33:03.505Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Axl Rose Seeks to Strip Internet of 'Fat' Meme og:description: The Guns N' Roses frontman issued a takedown request for an unflattering photo og:url: https://time.com/4359819/axl-rose-internet-fat-meme/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt712f22842f5b6ca2/698896c7cd1bba0ff2701020/axl-rose-concert.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: AC/DC Perform At Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Axl Rose Seeks to Strip Internet of 'Fat' Meme twitter:description: The Guns N' Roses frontman issued a takedown request for an unflattering photo twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt712f22842f5b6ca2/698896c7cd1bba0ff2701020/axl-rose-concert.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Axl Rose Seeks to Strip Internet of 'Fat' Meme  by [Raisa Bruner](/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jun 7, 2016 3:49 PM CUT  LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 04: Axl Rose of AC/DC performs at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on June 5, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Brian Rasic/WireImage) LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 04: Axl Rose of AC/DC performs at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on June 5, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Brian Rasic/WireImage)Brian Rasic — Getty Images  by [Raisa Bruner](/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jun 7, 2016 3:49 PM CUT The legendary Guns n’ Roses frontman wants to spiff up his Internet image. The rocker has issued a takedown request with Google for a concert photo of him onstage at a show in Winnipeg, Canada in 2010\. In the photo, a [performing Rose](http://time.com/4297027/axl-rose-acdc-world-tour/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined") is wearing a partially unbuttoned shirt and red bandana around his forehead, wild mane blowing in the wind. In comparison to the skinny rocker look of his youth, the 54-year-old singer appears to have added a few pounds. The photo has become the base image for a [series of viral memes](http://www.quickmeme.com/Axl-Rose-Fat/page/2/ "undefined") poking fun at his weight, adding captions like “Oh, oh oh / Sweet Cheetos o’ mine” in reference to the lyrics of some of his iconic songs. So to combat the spread of the unflattering image, Rose is taking advantage of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), a kind of cease-and-desist order that artists use to limit the spread of unauthorized works, according to copyright watchdog site [TorrentFreak](https://torrentfreak.com/axl-rose-sends-dmca-notices-to-google-targeting-fat-photo-160605/ "undefined"). Rose’s camp claims that the photographer, Brian Minkevich, [did not sign](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/jun/06/axl-rose-google-remove-photos "undefined") a release at the concert—meaning that the photo is, ultimately, Rose’s property and should not be the Internet’s plaything. Despite the DMCA request submitted on Rose’s behalf, however, the images are still up on Google. 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