A man who claimed to be a teenager selling naked photos of his mother on TradeMe says it was all a stunt.
Design student Michael Chal, 22, had posed as a teenager and listed raunchy photos of a woman he claimed was his mother as revenge for having to clean out their garage.
But Chal is actually the son of a former MP – and she is not the subject of the photos.
The Herald on Sunday today reported Chal pulled the stunt for a project to use social media to “get people chattering”. The woman pictured was a friend.
Mr Chal is the son of former United Future MP Kelly Chal, who was ousted from Parliament after just 17 days because she was not a New Zealand citizen.
Media Design School course leader Kate Humphries told the newspaper it was “99.9 per cent certain” he would fail the project, which was worth a fifth of his year’s work.
Mr Chal had no regrets about the project and said he believed it might help him forge a career in advertising.
“Dishonesty in advertising? I think that might help.”
Mrs Chal told the newspaper the matter had nothing to do with her.
“He doesn’t live at home, he lives in Auckland.”
Two of the photos fetched $340 but TradeMe had advised the buyer not to pay for them, NZPA reported. [Sydney Morning Herald]
Well I have to say his little experiment worked because for better or for worse it did become a global net phenomenon.
