Crime & Safety
Dani Mathers, Playboy Model And Tarzana Native, Sentenced For Body-Shaming
Dani Mathers, 2015 Playmate of the Year, was sentenced to community service for snapchatting a picture of a naked woman in an LA gym shower.
LOS ANGELES, CA — A Playboy model who took a photo of a nude 70-year- old woman in the shower of a Playa Vista gym locker room and posted it on social media with a derogatory comment pleaded no contest Wednesday to a misdemeanor and was placed on three years probation.
In exchange for her plea to the invasion-of-privacy charge, Dani Mathers -- the 2015 Playboy Playmate of the Year -- was also ordered to perform 30 days of community labor, likely doing graffiti-removal work, according to the City Attorney's Office.
Mathers, 30, sparked a firestorm of criticism when she posted the photo on her Snapchat account in July 2016. The picture showed the naked woman from behind, with Mathers' head turned away from the camera, with the message, "If I can't unsee this then you can't either."
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Shortly after the photo was posted, Mathers apologized, writing on her Twitter account, "I'm sorry for what I did. I need to take some time to myself now to reflect on why I did this horrible thing."
In another post, she wrote, "This was a huge mistake and I'm so sorry. I understand that this was wrong and I will do everything in my power to show you." In another, she indicated that she did not mean to post the photo publicly, only send it to a friend.
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When the criminal charge was filed, City Attorney Mike Feuer called it a blatant case of body-shaming.
"Body shaming is humiliating, with often painful, long-term consequences," Feuer 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," Feuer said. "While body shaming, in itself, is not a crime, there are circumstances in which invading one's privacy to accomplish it can be. And we shouldn't tolerate that."
City News Service Photo: 2015 Playmate of the Year Dani Mathers speaks onstage during Playboy’s 2015 Playmate of the Year Ceremony at the Playboy Mansion on May 14, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images for Playboy)
