In an ironic twist, Amnesty International has issued an apology for tormenting Iggy Pop by using his image in an anti-torture ad. The perpetually shirtless punk icon was featured in a recent campaign by Amnesty International Belgium; the “provocative” ads feature pictures of public figures covered in cuts and bruises, making statements that violate their most deeply held beliefs. (The tagline of the campaign is “Torture a man, and he will tell you anything.”) In Pop’s case, that means endorsing droopy-pantsed marijuana fiend Justin Bieber as “the future of rock ‘n’ roll.”
Amnesty International says the ad was meant to be “ironic,” a statement that may seem obvious to anyone who knows anything about either Iggy Pop or Justin Bieber. Nevertheless, Amnesty International felt compelled to clarify this in its apology:
“We would therefore also like to make it clear that the statement attributed to Iggy Pop that he believes Justin Bieber is the future of rock and roll does not represent Iggy Pop’s personal opinion.”
There’s also the little matter of Amnesty International using Pop’s likeness without asking his permission first—but let’s not dwell on that, when Justin Bieber’s music is the real torture here, right folks?