Morgan Freeman mistaken for Nelson Mandela on Indian billboard
Morgan Freeman, who played Nelson Mandela in Invictus, featured instead of South Africa's first black president in Indian poster campaign
The poster featuring the photo of Morgan Freeman instead of Nelson MandelaPhoto: Getty Images/AP
By Eleanor Steafel
11:02AM GMT 20 Dec 2013
The owner of a billboard in India dedicated to Nelson Mandela was left red faced on Thursday after discovering that what he thought was a photo of South Africa's first black president was in fact one of the actor Morgan Freeman.
The billboard, written in Tamil, had been erected by the side of a road in Coimbatore as a memorial to the anti-apartheid hero and other human rights figures.
But Chandrashekhar, who paid for the tribute as a mark of respect for the former president, has since realised the board mistakenly bears the picture of a Hollywood film star.
The cloth merchant – from Chennai, south India – said the mistake had been made by a designer and would be rectified: “We will replace it with the correct picture of Mandela.”
Morgan Freeman, who played Mr Mandela in the 2009 film ‘Invictus’ alongside Matt Damon, has unwittingly been at the centre of various gaffes since the former president’s death, with some Twitter users making the same mistake as Mr Chandrashekhar and sharing Mr Freeman’s picture on the day of Mr Mandela’s death.
This latest image was shared by hundreds of bemused Twitter users – some of which were still unable to distinguish between the two men.
Mr Morgan gave a moving eulogy to the South African leader, telling the New York Daily News: “Today the world lost one of the true giants of the past century.”
India declared five days of national mourning for Mr Mandela after his death on December 5. The country’s leaders hailed him as a “true Gandhian” and a “great friend.”
The billboard, which also features Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa and Mahatma Gandhi, read: “We should be proud that we were part of an era when they lived.”
Morgan Freeman, who played Nelson Mandela in Invictus, featured instead of South Africa's first black president in Indian poster campaign
The poster featuring the photo of Morgan Freeman instead of Nelson MandelaPhoto: Getty Images/AP
By Eleanor Steafel
11:02AM GMT 20 Dec 2013
The owner of a billboard in India dedicated to Nelson Mandela was left red faced on Thursday after discovering that what he thought was a photo of South Africa's first black president was in fact one of the actor Morgan Freeman.
The billboard, written in Tamil, had been erected by the side of a road in Coimbatore as a memorial to the anti-apartheid hero and other human rights figures.
But Chandrashekhar, who paid for the tribute as a mark of respect for the former president, has since realised the board mistakenly bears the picture of a Hollywood film star.
The cloth merchant – from Chennai, south India – said the mistake had been made by a designer and would be rectified: “We will replace it with the correct picture of Mandela.”
Morgan Freeman, who played Mr Mandela in the 2009 film ‘Invictus’ alongside Matt Damon, has unwittingly been at the centre of various gaffes since the former president’s death, with some Twitter users making the same mistake as Mr Chandrashekhar and sharing Mr Freeman’s picture on the day of Mr Mandela’s death.
This latest image was shared by hundreds of bemused Twitter users – some of which were still unable to distinguish between the two men.
Mr Morgan gave a moving eulogy to the South African leader, telling the New York Daily News: “Today the world lost one of the true giants of the past century.”
India declared five days of national mourning for Mr Mandela after his death on December 5. The country’s leaders hailed him as a “true Gandhian” and a “great friend.”
The billboard, which also features Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa and Mahatma Gandhi, read: “We should be proud that we were part of an era when they lived.”
