Photographer behind Trump Jr. 'Skittles' image is former refugee
LONDON — A man who says he took a picture of a bowl of Skittles that Donald Trump Jr. likened to Syrian refugees revealed that he was once a refugee himself.
David Kittos, 48, from Guildford, near London, told the BBC that he awoke Tuesday to be told by friends that a photo he took in his studio at home and posted to the image-hosting website Flickr in 2010 had sparked tens of thousands of comments on social media.
"In 1974, when I was 6 years old, I was a refugee from the Turkish occupation of Cyprus, so I would never approve the use of this image against refugees,” he told the broadcaster.
“This was not done with my permission, I don't support his politics, and I would never take his money to use it," he added.
Trump Jr. tweeted the image Monday, saying, "If I had a bowl of Skittles and I told you just three would kill you. Would you take a handful? That's our Syrian refugee problem."
A caption below the picture and his father’s "Make America Great Again" slogan said: "The image says it all. Let's end the politically correct agenda that doesn't put America first."
Kittos, a Greek-Cypriot by birth who now has British citizenship, told the BBC he never put the image up for sale.
"I would like the Trump campaign to delete the image, but they are probably not interested in what I have to say," he said.
He said he thought about getting lawyers involved but didn’t know if he had the patience.
"This isn't about the money for me. They 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," he said.
Denise Young, a spokeswoman for Skittles, said in a statement, "Skittles are candy. Refugees are people. We don’t feel it’s an appropriate analogy."