Samsung sues its own brand ambassador for using an iPhone X on TV

It’s not unusual for brands to pay celebrities to use their products. Some brands even go so far as to pay celebrities mountains of cash to only use that company’s products, at least when they are in a public setting.

Samsung is one such company and has paid celebrities like musician Adam Levine and tennis star David Ferrer to use Samsung smartphones. However, both of those celebrities were caught using iPhones instead.

Apparently, Samsung is done messing around, as the latest Samsung brand ambassador to be caught using an iPhone is now getting sued by the company to the tune of 108 million Russian rubles (~$1.6 million), via The Mirror.

Russian journalist, politician, and reality TV star — and Russian president Vladimir Putin’s so-called “goddaughter” — Ksenia Sobchak is the face of Samsung in Russia. As such, she is paid to exclusively use Samsung electronics publicly. However, on a recent live television stint, Sobchak can clearly be seen using an iPhone — likely an iPhone X, although it’s hard to be 100 percent certain.

Sobchak tried her best by using her fingers to hide the Apple logo and then using a piece of paper to hide it on the table:

To Samsung’s credit, the potential $1.6 million penalty isn’t for a first infraction: Sobchak has apparently been caught using an iPhone in public on multiple previous occasions.

AppleInsider speculates the $1.6 million penalty is actually more than Samsung is even paying her, which is pretty brutal.

However, it’s hard to feel sorry for anyone who makes millions from simply using one type of smartphone — and then messes it up. Seriously, I’m a diehard Android fanboy and I’ll use whatever Apple wants for millions of dollars. I’ll get an Apple logo tattoo. On my face.

NEXT: Samsung fined $5.7 million for slowing down phones, Apple style