Remember Dani Mathers? In July, the former Playboy Playmate of the Year Snapchatted a photo of herself looking horrified next to a naked 70-year-old woman in an LA Fitness locker room. She captioned the photo “If I can’t unsee this then you can’t either”.
Officials are saying Mathers could face jail time, especially since Los Angles City Attorney Mike Feuer announced his decision to move forward with the case, charging Mathers with criminal invasion of privacy. If convicted, she could be fined $1000 and spend up to six months in jail.
Videos by PopCulture.com
Initially, the backlash against Mathers was swift and harsh. She lost her job, was banned from LA Fitness, and a petition on Change.org gathered over 34,000 signatures asking LAPD to take legal action. The petition draws attention to a U.S. Code that calls for a fine or arrest of an individual who “has the intent to capture an image of a private area of an individual without their consent, and knowingly does so under circumstances in which the individual has a reasonable expectation of privacy.”
“Body shaming is humiliating, with often painful, long-term consequences,” Feuer said in a statement according to NPR. “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. 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.”
Mathers is scheduled to be arraigned on November 28.
>> Read more about Mathers’ apology and initial reaction here.
