The false image of George Clooney with an "anti-fascist" t-shirt that is being used by online clothing brands
The image of actor George Clooney wearing a T-shirt that he calls "losers" to the Confederates, the Nazis and the followers of Donald Trump is a photomontage
An image of the American actor George Clooney circulates on social networks with an "anti-fascist t-shirt" in which the word "losers" is read ─equivalent to losers in a derogatory way─ along with references to the flag used by the Confederate army, to the Nazis and supporters of former President Donald Trump. It is a photomontage on a real image taken in 2015 and that some clothing brands on the Internet are using as a claim to sell them.
The montage t-shirt is a mockery that highlights the failure of the Confederates in the American Civil War in 1865, the fall of the Nazis in 1945 and Trump's electoral defeat along with a cap with the inscription "MAGA", in reference to the slogan Make America Great Again. The false photo has gone viral in both Spanish and English and many are applauding the supposed anti-fascist gesture of the Hollywood star, but in reality it has never happened.
The original image was taken on September 8, 2015, when the actor attended the premiere of a program called The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. Then, George Clooney wore a Casamigos tequila brand t-shirt, with which the actor has done several advertising campaigns. The image on which the montage was made was taken by John Lamparski for the Getty Images agency.
However, the montage seems so real that many people have believed that Clooney wore the shirt. "George Clooney does everything well, the movies, the coffee ads and spitting on fascism," comments one user who shares the photomontage, while another says "George Clooney, always on my team."
The same photomontage with Ryan Reynolds
A few months ago, an image of Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds began to circulate with the same t-shirt with the inscription "losers" with which George Clooney now appears, but it is also false and it is a photomontage.
Nailed it!!!!! pic.twitter.com/kSch9dXUpy
— Brownsfan4life (@BrownsCanada) August 11, 2021
In reality, the shirt Reynolds was wearing in the original photo was against COVID-19 as part of a project carried out in April 2020 to help vulnerable people during the pandemic, and it bore the inscription “Conquer COVID-19”. So, the actor asked "all Canadians who buy this shirt" to collaborate.
On his Instagram profile, he was recorded wearing the shirt in question to promote the Conquer COVID-19 initiative, which aims to support those fighting the coronavirus on the front lines and that all Canadians "have access to the resources they need during the pandemic.”
Companies sell the shirt with the claim of George Clooney and Ryan Reynolds
With the popularity achieved by the photomontages of George Clooney and Ryan Reynolds, several clothing companies have begun to market the anti-fascist t-shirt using these actors as a claim.
For example, the Lelemoon company sells the shirt starting at $20 with the title “George Clooney losers in 1865 shirt”, while the Teehami brand offers the same shirt starting at $16 with the claim that it was worn by Ryan Reynolds, something which is false.
In the case of the Canadian actor, it so happens that the purpose of the original image was to promote a t-shirt to raise funds for solidarity purposes, although some Internet clothing companies such as those mentioned are using deception to sell a different t-shirt with the false pretense that Reynolds dressed her.
