Her son became a popular meme. Now she’s ordering a GOP congressman to stop using it

The mother of a boy who became known for the “Success Kid” meme has ordered Rep. Steve King to stop using the image for his reelection campaign.

The meme, which features Laney Griner’s young son with his fist clenched in a triumphant stance, appeared on the Iowa Republican’s Facebook page as early as Jan. 23 with a caption encouraging followers to send money to “make sure the memes keep flowing and the Lefties stay triggered.”

The post included a link to the online campaign donor platform WinRed, which also used the meme in an ad.

Griner posted on Twitter Jan. 23 that she would “never give permission” for use of the photo to “promote any agenda of this vile man or that disgusting party.”

Her lawyers sent a formal cease-and-desist letter to King and his campaign Monday, saying he must remove the meme from his websites, post an apology for using the image and issue refunds to people who donated in response to the ad.

The letter demands a response by Wednesday morning. Otherwise, Griner plans to sue King for copyright infringement and violation of her son’s “personality rights.”

Griner’s attorney Stephen D. Rothschild said Tuesday morning that they have yet to receive a response from King. However, the Facebook post has since been deleted.

King’s office has not responded to a request from McClatchy News for comment.

King has received much criticism for his past racist and anti-Semetic statements. Last year, he was removed from his House committee assignments after appearing to question why the term “white supremacist” is considered offensive in an interview with the New York Times.

The Washington Post reported Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said at the time that King’s statements were “unwelcome and unworthy of his elected position.”

“If he doesn’t understand why ‘white supremacy’ is offensive, he should find another line of work,” McConnell said, according to the Post.