A man who became an early internet sensation after the BBC interviewed him live on air by mistake says he is planning to sue the corporation over lost earnings from the clip.
Guy Goma turned up at the corporation’s headquarters for a job interview in 2006, but when he arrived he ended up being interviewed on the BBC News Channel about internet music downloads.
He had been mistaken for technology journalist Guy Kewney, who had been booked to talk about a legal dispute between Apple Corps and Apple Computers.
The blunder has been viewed more than five million times on the broadcaster’s YouTube channel but Mr Goma told a podcast he has not received any royalties arising from the interview.
He told the Accidental Celebrities podcast: “I contacted them, they didn’t answer me. Did they pay me for that interview? No”
“I’m going to go (to court) … because of the money they made on it and they didn’t give me any single penny
“They are waiting for me to take them to the court.”
When asked by hosts Josh Pieters and Archie Manners if he intends to go to court against the corporation, he replied: “I’m going to go … because of the money they made on it and they didn’t give me any single penny.”
He further mentioned that the BBC has been utilizing the video for a duration of 17 years, employing it for various purposes. “no penny to me”, later adding “that clip made them richer”.
Mr Manners told him the lack of payment seemed “incredibly unfair” given how many times the clip has been watched.”
Earlier in the episode, Mr. Goma described how make-up was applied to him when he arrived at the BBC studios.
He stated: “I said ‘excuse me, I don’t need that, I just came for the job interview, I don’t need make-up’.”
In the video, he seemed taken aback at first, yet he responded to all inquiries, and business reporter Karen Bowerman remained oblivious to any error.
Following the interview, he informed the BBC that they had interviewed the incorrect individual. However, he did not receive any response from the broadcaster for a week. Consequently, he missed his scheduled job interview and was not offered the position. The BBC chose not to provide any comment.
Share on Facebook «||» Share on Twitter «||» Share on Reddit «||» Share on LinkedIn