Little Old Lady Who Ruined the Fresco Says “Pass the Loot!” UPDATED

Remember this?

The, um, “restorer” would like a piece of the action. You see, because of her work, the Church is making money hand-over-fist, and she wants her fair share. Gawker shares this bit of news with us,

Cecilia Giménez, the 85-year-old Spanish villager who took it upon herself to transform Elías García Martínez’s Ecce Homo (Behold the Man) into Ecce Mono (Behold the Monkey), has apparently recovered from the anxiety she initially experienced and is now looking to get paid.

According to the Spanish daily El Correo, Giménez has hired lawyers to shake down the church where the fresco is located, claiming they’ve made thousands of Euros in collection box donations thanks to myriad tourists flocking to see her “hairy monkey in an ill-fitting tunic.”

Ars Technica notes that the Santuario de Misericordia church in Borja is not taking kindly to Giménez’s copyright claim, and has hired its own legal counsel in preparation for a court battle.

The best part of this report (besides the embedded source links)? Believe it or not, the comment section. Gems like these abound,

“And if I can just get to The Last Supper with this steak knife that I carry everywhere, I’ll be a millionaire. And, more importantly, Romney will decide that I count.”

“I still can’t get over how anyone could let it get this bad. I mean, at a much, much, much earlier point of the “restoration” she must’ve seen how bad this was turning out.

What she did is the visual equivalent to waiting until your hand has burst into flames before deciding it’s a good idea to move it away from the flame.”

“Ok, simmer down granny. I had your back at first (and I think Jesus would too, bless your old, near-sighted heart) but now you’re out of line. Might want to wait to collect your reward in heaven. As it is that bus is only like a block away…”

“She’s not just incompetent, she’s greedy. Why isn’t this woman running for President?”

Check it out. I dare you not to smile.

UPDATE:

Over at NPR, Mark Memmot has a brilliant idea: Vote on whether Cecilia Giménez should get a share!