Donald Trump Jr. lifted that Skittles photograph from a refugee

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 20 September 2016

Donald Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., drew ire Monday night when he likened the Syrian refugee crisis to a compromised bowl of Skittles. If three of the Skittles in the bowl "would kill you," an image Trump shared on Twitter threatened, "would you take a handful?" The text that loomed over a tantalizing photo of edible rainbow candy pieces:

As it turns out, the young Trump has a former refugee to thank for the image. David Kittos, 48, posted the picture on the photo-sharing website Flickr back in January 2010, only to rise Tuesday morning and find the image was the center of controversy. "This was not done with my permission, I don't support [Trump's] politics and I would never take his money to use it," Kittos told the BBC. "In 1974, when I was six years old, I was a refugee from the Turkish occupation of Cyprus, so I would never approve the use of this image against refugees."

Kittos said he had taken the photo simply because he was practicing off-camera flash techniques. But while the image wasn't for sale, Kittos is not interested in pursuing action with lawyers. "This isn't about the money for me. [Trump's campaign] could have just bought a cheap image from a micro stock library. This is pure greed from them. I don't think they care about my feelings. They should not be stealing an image, full stop," Kittos said.

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Skittles' owner, Wrigley, also expressed unhappiness with the use of their product in the Trump promotion. "Skittles are candy. Refugees are people. We don't feel it is an appropriate analogy," the company said.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.