Photos of Mexican singer Lucero hunting animals go viral

A photo of a celebrity posing with a dead animal always causes a stir.

Just ask Spain’s King Juan Carlos. 

So it should come as no surprise that hunting photos of Mexican singer, actress and television presenter Lucero have become an internet sensation.

A snapshot of Lucero and her millionaire boyfriend, Michel Kuri, posing with an apparently dead Spanish wild goat first appeared in a tabloid magazine on Tuesday along with a second photo of Lucero with blood on her face. 

The photos went viral and sparked trending topics such as #LuceroAsesina (Lucero the killer) and #LuceroAsesinaAnimales (Lucero kills animals) as well as hilarious memes.

In a letter to the media published on her Twitter account on Monday, apparently in an attempt to head off the firestorm of criticism, Lucero said the photos were stolen and were published “out of context.” 

Reproducción urgente: Comunicado Lucero a medios y público https://t.co/67qtYswGTu pic.twitter.com/kiK920j8T6

— Lucero (@LuceroMexico) January 7, 2014

Nevertheless, the damage has been done.

Lucero, one of the celebrity presenters of the Teleton, an annual television and radio broadcast to raise money for rehabilitation centers for disabled children in Mexico, has already lost a shampoo advertising contract with US consumer products giant Procter & Gamble as a result of the photo scandal.

And the mayor of Vineyard by the Sea in Chile is reportedly considering cancelling an invitation to Lucero to participate in February’s International Song Festival.