• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
MPWMost Powerful Women

Melania Trump Forces the Removal of Billboard Mocking Her English Language Skills

Claire Zillman
By
Claire Zillman
Claire Zillman
Editor, Leadership
Down Arrow Button Icon
Claire Zillman
By
Claire Zillman
Claire Zillman
Editor, Leadership
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 20, 2017, 4:49 AM ET

The Slovenian law firm that represents Melania Trump has forced the take-down of billboards in Croatia that used a photo of the first lady to sell its language classes.

“Just imagine how far you can go with a little bit of English,” read billboards that appeared in the capital city of Zagreb last week. They display a photo of Trump delivering a speech at last year’s Republican National Convention.

Natasa Pirc-Musar, a lawyer for Trump, reportedly demanded that the billboards be removed, and the private English school responsible for them has obliged.

Pirc-Musar told the Associated Press that the school had admitted that the advertisements violated the law and said it would take down the physical ads as well as those on Facebook. “We are still analyzing possible further legal steps,” she said.

Click here to subscribe to the Broadsheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter on the world’s most powerful women.

Cars drive near a billboard advertising a language school with the image of U.S. first lady Melania Trump in Zagreb, Croatia
The billboard featuring Trump’s likeness in Zagreb. Antonio Bronic—Reuters
ANTONIO BRONIC—REUTERS

Ivis Buric, a spokesperson for the school, said it’d chosen to feature Trump on its advertisements because the Slovenia native is “the most recognized emigrant to the U.S. from this region.” Buric said the billboard was meant to be positive—”to show her as a role model”—and, in fact, the campaign had been “very successful.”

“We are very sorry that the billboards were misunderstood as something intended to mock the U.S. first lady,” Buric said.

Trump has fought this fight before. In fact, she hired lawyers from the firm Pirc Musar & Partnerji last year to defend against her likeness being used for commercial purposes. Items—wine, cakes, even salami—bearing the first lady’s name or likeness began popping up in her home country as her husband’s presidential campaign catapulted the former model onto the world stage.

Trump’s English has also been ridiculed in the past. Comedian and television personality Chelsea Handler, when asked by Variety in January if she’d interview the first lady, said, “To talk about what? She can barely speak English.”

While Trump speaks English with a heavy accent, it’s one of the five languages she’s reportedly fluent in. She also speaks Slovenian, German, French, and Serbo-Croat.

 

About the Author
Claire Zillman
By Claire ZillmanEditor, Leadership
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Claire Zillman is a senior editor at Fortune, overseeing leadership stories. 

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in MPW

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in MPW

MagazineCentene
The youngest-ever female CEO of a Fortune 500 company is fighting Trump’s cuts to keep Medicaid strong
By Diane BradyMarch 24, 2026
2 days ago
AsiaPepsiCo
Three Asias, three different playbooks: How PepsiCo’s Anne Tse views the world’s fastest-growing snack market
By Nicholas GordonMarch 20, 2026
6 days ago
NewslettersMPW Daily
Inside one CEO’s battle to get a tariff refund: ‘We did take a beat to consider the best path’
By Claire ZillmanMarch 18, 2026
8 days ago
NewslettersMPW Daily
Hinge is growing while online dating competitors are struggling. Its new CEO explains why
By Ellie AustinMarch 17, 2026
9 days ago
NewslettersMPW Daily
The most powerful moments for women at the 2026 Oscars
By Ellie AustinMarch 16, 2026
10 days ago
MagazineVictoria's Secret
How Victoria’s Secret got its sexy back
By Emma HinchliffeFebruary 4, 2026
2 months ago

Most Popular

Success
Palantir’s billionaire CEO says only two kinds of people will succeed in the AI era: trade workers — ‘or you’re neurodivergent’
By Fortune EditorsMarch 24, 2026
2 days ago
Magazine
The youngest-ever female CEO of a Fortune 500 company is fighting Trump's cuts to keep Medicaid strong
By Fortune EditorsMarch 24, 2026
2 days ago
Commentary
The Treasury just declared the U.S. insolvent. The media missed it
By Fortune EditorsMarch 23, 2026
3 days ago
C-Suite
'I didn’t want anybody shooting me': Five Guys CEO gave away $1.5 million bonus to employees over botched BOGO burger birthday celebration
By Fortune EditorsMarch 25, 2026
19 hours ago
Success
JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon says remote work breeds ‘rope-a-dope politics’ and stunts young workers’ growth
By Fortune EditorsMarch 25, 2026
23 hours ago
Success
The job market is so bad that ‘reverse recruiters’ are charging $1,500 a month just to help people look for jobs
By Fortune EditorsMarch 25, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.