ADVERTISEMENTSamsung has moved to deflate accussations Twitter’s most retweeted photo was just a marketing stunt for the electronics giant.
Oscars host Ellen DeGeneres’ celebrity-crammed picture – taken with a Samsung device – went viral on Sunday as it was forwarded more than three million times.
But question marks were raised after it emerged DeGeneres then used a different handset backstage, when taking other Twitter photos.
Samsung, a sponsor of the Oscars, denied it was pre-orchestrated stunt. It added it would give three million dollars to charity to toast the picture.
If only Bradley's arm was longer. Best photo ever. #oscarspic.twitter.com/C9U5NOtGap
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) March 3, 2014
I gave everyone in my audience a @SamsungMobileUS Galaxy Note 3. Anyone else want one? http://t.co/IEBeuU8MDN
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) March 3, 2014
A statement, given to techcrunch.com reads: “While we were a sponsor of the Oscars and had an integration with ABC, we were delighted to see Ellen organically incorporate the device into the selfie moment that had everyone talking.
“A great surprise for everyone, she captured something that nobody expected. In honor of this epic moment and of course, the incredible response of nearly 3 million re tweets, we wanted to make a donation to Ellen’s charities of choice: St Jude’s and the Humane Society. Samsung will donate 1.5 million dollars to each charity.”