A 38-year-old Longmont artist made headlines in January when the government turned his “pop art” statement on the Tiger Woods sex scandal into a federal case.
On Friday, just after Tiger Woods held a news conference about his sex addiction, Jason Kay was in U.S. District Court in Denver, pleading guilty to one misdemeanor charge of mislabeling orange-flavored Gatorade as mango.
“Not a word was said about Tiger Woods,” said his lawyer, Paul McCormick of Boulder. “We pled to mislabeling orange Gatorade as mango Gatorade.”
Kay was charged with misbranding and altering food labels with intent to hurt a brand or business after he and a friend relabeled 1,000 bottles of Gatorade with images of Tiger Woods, his wife, Elin Nordgren, and the word “Unfaithful,” and placed them on shelves in Front Range grocery stores.
“He is a legitimate artist, and this is his niche,” said McCormick, explaining that Kay’s work blends public figures with double-meaning logos to make people think about issues.
“The double entendre here is, was it really Tiger who was unfaithful, or was it Gator ade when they dropped him as a sponsor?”
Kay’s mistake was putting the mislabeled bottles back on the shelves, instead of in an art gallery, McCormick said.
Prosecutors recommended probation, but the final decision is up to the judge. Kay, who is scheduled to be sentenced on May 3, could receive up to a year in jail and up to a $1,000 fine.
Colleen O’Connor: 303-954-1083 or coconnor@denverpost.com
