Trending

Melania Trump threatens lawsuit over billboard mocking English language skills

A lawyer for Melania Trump threatened a lawsuit after a private English language school in Croatia used billboards with a photo of the first lady, and the billboards were taken down, The Associated Press reported.

>> Read more trending news

“Just imagine how far you can go with a little bit of English,” read the billboard next to a photo of the first lady giving a speech at the 2016 Republican National Convention.

American Institute, a private English language school in Croatia’s capital city, Zagreb, used Trump to encourage others to learn English.

"They used Mrs. Trump's image and personality for commercial purposes without her consent, which is a breach of the advertising code and the law on obligations," White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham told The Washington Post.

Trump was born in Slovenia, which neighbors Croatia.

According to the school, the use of her image was out of the highest degree of respect, according to The Post.

"We are very sorry that the billboards were misunderstood as something intended to mock the U.S. first lady," said school spokeswoman Ivis Buric. "It was meant to be something positive, to show her as a role model ...  (Trump is) the most recognized emigrant to the U.S. from this region."

“I’m satisfied with the fact that the school admitted that they violated the law and that they are ready to remove the billboards and (Facebook) ads,” said Natasa Pirc-Musar, Trump’s lawyer. “We are still analyzing possible further legal steps.”

Pirc-Musar said that the school needed to do more than apologize, suggesting a statement to state news media. The school, which reported the ads as “very successful,” said that they would put up new ads without the first lady’s image.

Brianna Chambers contributed to this report.