Dani Mathers isn’t finished talking about her body-shaming scandal. In fact, it’s her new job.
In July 2016, Mathers secretly Snapchatted a photo of a 70-year-old woman who was naked in an LA Fitness locker room. She captioned the photo, “If I can’t unsee this then you can’t either,” poking fun at the woman’s weight.
Videos by PopCulture.com
Following the traction of the shaming scandal, the former Playboy Playmate of the Year was banned from her gym and fired from her job as a radio host. But this was more than a disgusting case of body shaming; it became a criminal invasion of privacy case. Mathers pled no contest to the misdemeanor charge and was sentenced to three years’ probation and 30 days of community service.
This week, Mathers spoke with Us Weekly reporters about what life is like after conviction. “There is no doubt I regret that stupid choice,” she said. “I am sorry that it happened to this woman. But I am not sorry about what happened to me. I would not have this push to create positivity and try to change people’s minds about how they act without thinking.”
She also views having her life turned upside down as a “blessing in disguise.”
These statements come just days after an emotional Mathers spoke with a Good Morning America contributor, where she was scrutinized for being selfish and ‘playing the victim’. “To have to hide out at my mother’s house because of something I’ve done… It’s really low,” she said on GMA. “I have lost my privacy after taking privacy from somebody else.”
The victim hasn’t spoken with media following the case, but her attorney spoke with the Los Angeles Times on her behalf. In response to Mathers’ GMA statements, he held nothing back.
“One thing that appears to be the case now is that Ms. Mathers is attempting to portray herself as the victim. She is not the victim. She is the perpetrator,” he said. He also notes that, while Mathers says she’s tried to contact the victim, his client has received no contact.
The prosecutor plans to use Mathers as an example to pass legislation that will increase the penalty for sharing a photo or video of a person without their knowledge. The former Playmate says while she supports the bill, she doesn’t want her ‘name to be abused’ in order to pass it, GMA reports.
In an ironic turn of events, Mathers is now working with a charity called Coupla Guys and Gals Give Back. She heads its anti-bullying department and will be speaking at schools about—you guessed it—using social media responsibly.
As for Mathers’ personal life, she took a break from social media for almost a year following the body-shaming event. “I feared anything positive I put out would be seen as disingenuous,” she said to Us Weekly.
Now that the legalities of the crime have been wrapped up, it’s Mathers’ time to move forward—rebuilding her image, included.
“My hope is to turn the corner and show people the person I am,” she said. “Some people want to believe I’m only working with charities because of my consequences. But at the end of the day, I know who I am.”
Ultimately, Mathers views this experience as a major lesson learned. “When you’re told how much of a monster you are, it pushes you to look inside,” she said. “I don’t ever want to be someone spitting hate. That’s really what I’ve learned.
“I also gained a lot of empathy and learned that everybody, at some point, has judged a person. Going through this past year and making it to the other side, I know I can handle almost anything.”
These ~super positive~ comments—with a hint of passive aggression—from Mathers’ latest chat may be sincere, but she recently enlisted the help of crisis and media manager Wendy Feldman to help ‘rebuild her image’ in the coming months. (Maybe this explains the difference in her tone and message from one interview to the next?)
“I want clients like Dani to use their platforms to really help people and shine a light where there may be darkness,” Feldman told Us Weekly.
