Someone at the department of Prime Minister and Cabinet really has a thing for crisp white Common Projects. At least, that’s the only tenable explanation for an official image of Prime Minister Scott Morrison sporting a pair of kicks plainly Photoshopped over his actual shoes.
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In case you missed it last night, Twitter user Luke Martin noticed the PM’s official website used a very, very obviously doctored image. The image sparked widespread speculation and derision, directed at both the quality of the doctoring and the intention behind it.
#auspol story of 2019: our latest PM (ScoMo) had nice white shoes photoshopped onto his feet for his official https://t.co/eXNtcX7xTa site?! Yup. Regular bloke. Our tax dollars hard at work. #shoegate pic.twitter.com/kA0gG0yy9L
— lukerhn (@lukerhn) January 8, 2019
While the cheesiness was clear, Australia was left asking who actually put that image together, and why they thought Ctrl+C-ing and Ctrl+V-ing a left shoe onto Morrison’s right foot was the go.
We now have a little more insight into the matter. In a statement obtained by Ten Daily, the PM’s office claims the image was cobbled together without the knowledge of Morrison or his crew, suggesting he wasn’t directly responsible for the edit:
The photo was doctored by the department of Prime Minister and Cabinet without the knowledge of, or authorisation by, the PM or the PM’s office.
The PM much prefers his own shoes.
Morrison himself has also commented on the issue, revealing the K-Swiss so cruelly hidden in the doctored image.
Message to my Department (PM&C): I didn’t ask for the shoeshine, but if you must Photoshop, please focus on the hair (lack thereof), not the feet! 😀
Here they are in all their glory – my footwear of choice whenever I can get out of a suit. pic.twitter.com/hKKUstnArq— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) January 8, 2019
We’ll let you know if the staffer responsible eventually airbrushes Morrison into an entirely different outfit to appeal to the voters of Australia.
