Scott Morrison has spoken out after being widely mocked by internet users for an embarrassing editing fail in a professional photo of him and his family.
The Aussie prime minister was pictured alongside his wife Jenny and two daughters Lily and Abbey in a photo shared on the Australian Prime Minister’s official website, which showed him wearing cream trousers and a blue-and-white chequered shirt.
However, one fan quickly spotted something amiss when it came to his footwear, as the PM appeared to be wearing some pristine white cartoon sneakers in the initial image.
Having zoomed in to get a better look, several people immediately began sharing photos online of the bizarre footwear – quickly realising they had been carelessly photoshopped on and appeared to fit two left feet.
“Our latest PM (ScoMo) had nice white shoes photoshopped onto his feet for his official pm.gov.au site?! Yup. Regular bloke. Our tax dollars hard at work”, one Twitter user wrote.
While one more added: “Oh dear. #Aussie PM’s family portrait spawns “two left feet” jokes as the bright white shoes @ScottMorrisonMP is wearing aren’t real, or on his feet, and appear to be two left shoes. They were swapped in for the trainers he was wearing.”
Meanwhile, one Twitter user poked fun at the speedy turnover in the Australian parliament and wrote: “The shoes are real, they just photoshop in whoever is currently prime minister.”
The image has since been replaced by the original photo, which shows Morrison wearing some dirtier off-white sneakers instead – and he has now addressed the gaffe on his official Twitter page.
Blaming the error on his own office, the PM shared an image of his actual sneakers and wrote: “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.”
However, a spokesperson for the PM has since told 10 Daily that the image was changed without the office’s knowledge or permission.
“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 spokesperson said. “The PM much prefers his own shoes.”