The Fiji Water model who stole the show at the Golden Globes is suing the company for cashing in on her image
- The model who went viral as the "Fiji Water Girl" for holding bottles of Fiji Water in the background of celebrity red carpet shots last month is suing the company for using her image in an ad campaign.
- Kelly Steinbach, also known by modelling name Kelleth Cuthbert, said the company made cardboard cutouts of her at the Golden Globes without permission.
- Fiji Water called the lawsuit "frivolous."
Kelly Steinbach, the model who went viral as the "Fiji Water Girl" after she was hired to hold bottles of Fiji Water on the Golden Globes red carpet last month, is suing the company for allegedly misusing her picture to sell more water, E! News reported.
Steinbach sued Fiji Water for using her image in a cardboard cutout ad campaign, which she said was done without her permission, according to E! News.
E! obtained court documents filed by Steinbach, who also goes by her modelling name, Kelleth Cuthbert.
Fiji Water contends that it already paid Steinbach enough, and said in a statement that the suit is without merit.
You can see the cardboard cutout in the background of this paparazzi photo People Magazine published of singer John Legend in Beverly Hills earlier this month.
John Legend Photobombed by a Fiji Water Girl Cardboard Cutout at the Grocery Store https://t.co/w61pMmAWoM
— People (@people) January 11, 2019
Steinbach, 31, became an internet sensation after appearing in the background of numerous celebrity red carpet shots at the Golden Globes in early January. She became known as "Fiji Water Girl."
It came about when a Getty Images photographer, who was originally commissioned to take photos of celebrities holding or drinking Fiji Water, "came up with the idea to have a Fiji brand ambassador creep into some shots" because nobody was drinking the water.
In her lawsuit, Steinbach said she is entitled to some of the money that Fiji Water made from her image, E! News said.
According to TMZ, she claimed that Fiji Water made "upwards of $12 million in brand exposure" after Steinbach's Golden Globes appearance. It's not clear how she calculated the figure.
Fiji Water has slammed Steinbach's lawsuit as "frivolous" and said it had "negotiated a generous agreement" with her after her Golden Globes fame.
Referring to Steinbach by her modelling name, the company told E! News and TMZ in a statement: "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," it added. "Throughout our history, we have had a sterling reputation working with talent."
INSIDER has contacted Fiji Water for comment.
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