‘Unflattering’ Karoline Leavitt Photo Removed from Online Library After White House 'Displeasure'

The White House has lashed out at a photo agency, demanding they delete an unflattering image of Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt from a Thanksgiving briefing. The agency was told that the administration disapproved of the shot featuring Leavitt alongside her son Nicholas Robert Riccio and Waddle the Turkey.

Rather than citing technical issues like blurriness or sensitivity, officials objected purely to the angle. Leavitt reportedly pressured the agency to scrub it from online libraries, highlighting tensions over image control.

In November 2025, during a Thanksgiving-themed White House press briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt appeared with her young son and Waddle the Turkey, the traditional bird slated for a presidential pardon. The turkey stood obediently by the lectern as journalists snapped photos amid questions for the Trump official.

AFP photographer Andrew Caballero-Reynolds captured one such image. According to a report by Status, the shot was taken from an unflattering angle, later drawing White House ire.

The White House expressed its "displeasure" to the photo agency, leading to the image's swift removal from the online library, including Getty Images' database. The precise photo is no longer publicly accessible. This incident underscores tensions in the Trump administration's media relations.

AFP’s director of brand and communications, Grégoire Lemarchand, told Status they were “made aware” of the White House’s views on the picture. He stressed there was no “formal request to remove it, nor was there any external pressure involved” in pulling the unflattering shot of Leavitt.

“While we were made aware that White House staff found the photo unflattering, we want to be clear that there was no formal request to remove it, nor was there any external pressure involved,” stated Lemarchand while speaking to The Daily Beast.

As per the Status report, Lemarchand confirmed the White House Press Secretary’s image was removed after initial publication due to internal quality checks. AFP initially selected the picture but later decided to pull it.

Lemarchand described it as “an internal editorial one, based on our standard quality and selection criteria,” stressing no external pressure was applied. They noted during the briefing, they received a “large influx of photos directly from the photographer’s camera.”

Editors face pressure to act quickly during high-volume events like briefings to ensure timely photo delivery. In a later review, the editor-in-chief determined the image fell short of standards.

Lemarchand noted, “The angle was poor and, more importantly, we already had a selection of superior images from the same event available on the wire.”

Status journalist Oliver Darcy observed that the White House need not file a formal complaint for removal. “Simply making it clear the administration’s press shop is unhappy with it is enough,” he added.