Pay Up, John Mayer
Here's the star's mug shot, for which he offered $25,000
AUGUST 27--As you may have read, the musician John Mayer has offered a $25,000 charitable donation for the publication of a mug shot that was taken following his arrest several years ago.
While he technically made this offer, via Twitter, to the gossip site TMZ, we figured it applied to any other bounty hunters. Like The Smoking Gun, for example. So, as seen at left, here's Mayer's mug shot.
The photo was snapped after the performer was collared by Georgia cops in May 2001 for speeding and driving without a license. To those keeping score, TSG was the first site to publish Mayer's mug shot, which we did today at 3:03 PM (Eastern time). A post to our Twitter page (tsgnews) noting that "Mayer owes us $25,000" was also made at 3:03 PM.
For its part, TMZ posted the photo at 3:10 PM, with the site's customary "EXCLUSIVE" claim. While the TMZ item carries a backdated "posted" time of 3:03 PM, a check of the item's comments section shows that the first comment was recorded at, not surprisingly, 3:10 PM, moments after the photo appeared on the gossip site.
Both sites received the image from Ashanti Moore, an administrative assistant with the Atlanta Department of Corrections, who e-mailed the photo to TMZ (but only after it first appeared on TSG). Additionally, TMZ's own commenters were under no illusion as to where the photo first appeared. In the comments section of an earlier item heralding that the booking photo was "on the way," one reader noted, at 3:08 PM, "Posted on TSG." A minute later, another reported, "The Smoking Gun has it on their Website. It was a 2001 Arrest in Georgia for speeding." (2 pages)
