Summary: Playmate model Dani Mathers photographed a naked woman at the gym in order to make fun of her, and she will now face a criminal trial for the act.
Dani Mathers has apologized for publicly shaming an elderly woman online, but her remorseful words are not enough. Jezebel reports that the blonde beauty will be heading to trial at the end of this month for secretly photographing the naked woman without her consent. She faces a misdemeanor charge of invasion of privacy.
Mathers was Playmate of the Year in 2015, and she is arguably an example of classic beauty–she is thin, has a symmetrical face, and has long blonde hair. But while her outside is nice to look at her, she showed how ugly her personality is when she snapped a photo of an unsuspecting naked woman getting into the shower at L.A. Fitness.
Mathers disgusted her social media fans in July of 2016 when she published the photo of the naked woman with the caption “If I can’t unsee this then you can’t either.” She also added a photo of herself pretending to be horrified by the woman’s body. While it appeared that Mathers was fishing for likes and comments agreeing with her mean girl body assessment, she was met with a huge wave of backlash instead. People hated how she not only violated the woman’s privacy but also felt the need to body-shame an innocent 70-year-old who was just minding her own business.
Mathers, 30, issued an apology and said that she was not the “type of person” who would body shame, even though that was exactly what she did. After her social media post, she was barred from her gym and the Los Angeles Police Department conducted an investigation and was able to locate the victim.
In California, where the incident took place, it is illegal to record or photograph “identifiable” people in private areas such as locker rooms or tanning beds. Mathers’ lawyer Dana Cole argued that the elderly woman in Mathers’ photo was not identifiable and that it took the police hours to figure out who she was. Los Angeles judge Gustavo Sztraicher didn’t buy this explanation and allowed the lawsuit to move forward.
Back in November, Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer made a public statement that the city would prosecute the Peeping Tom Playboy model.
“Body shaming is humiliating, with often painful, long-term consequences,” Feurer said. “It mocks and stigmatizes its victims, tearing down self-respect and perpetuating the harmful idea that our unique physical appearances should be compared to air-brushed notions of ‘perfect.’ What really matters is our character and humanity.”
The trial is scheduled for May 26. Mathers’ attorney stated that she plans to testify.
Below are the Snapchat images that started it all:
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- Related: Playboy Model Published Photo of Unsuspecting Woman at the Gym
Photos courtesy of Playboy and The Daily Mail