Playboy Playmate Pays Stiff Price For Body Shaming (VIDEO)


Last summer, Dani Mathers, the 2015 Playboy Playmate of the Year, got the bright idea to take a picture of a naked woman in an LA Fitness club and post it to Snapchat. Since then, she has lost her reputation and her longtime gig at a radio station. On Thursday, she learned that she’d lost her freedom as well. After finally realizing that she was in a battle she couldn’t win, she pleaded no contest in return for three years’ probation and one month of community service.


For those who missed it, Mathers snapped a picture of a then 70-year-old naked woman at LA Fitness. She uploaded it to Snapchat next to a picture of herself with her hand over her mouth as if stifling a laugh. The caption read, “If I can’t unsee this than you can’t either.” She deleted the picture within minutes, but the damage was already done. Within hours, LA Fitness banned her from ever entering one if its clubs again. KLOS, Southern California’s longtime album rock powerhouse, bounced her from her longtime gig on the “Heidi & Frank” morning show.

Mathers’ attempt to apologize only poured gasoline on the fire. She claimed that she only intended it to be part of a private conversation with one of her friends. The relentless bombardment she’d taken on social media continued unabated, and she was briefly forced to wall off her social media accounts.

In November, Los Angeles city attorney Mike Feuer formally charged Mathers with misdemeanor invasion of privacy. Mathers initially pleaded not guilty, even though she had apologized. Last week, she tried to have the case thrown out, claiming there was no way to identify the woman. A judge rejected that gambit, and Mathers was due to face trial starting this coming Friday.


Over the next week, however, Mathers realized she faced extremely long odds. Not only is society’s tolerance for body shaming at an all-time low, but it was awfully hard to reconcile her apology with what looked like legal hair-splitting. Two days before her trial was due to start, she opted to change her plea to no contest. Watch here, via “Inside Edition.”

As part of her plea–which has the effect of a guilty plea–Mathers is not allowed to have a cell phone or any other recording device in a locker room or anywhere else “where persons may be in a state of undress.” The judge also ordered her not to take pictures or video of others without permission, or post them online without permission.

She must also serve her community service by helping remove graffiti in Los Angeles. According to TMZ, had she not opted for community service, she would have faced 45 days in the county jail. In a unique twist, she must pay the victim $60 in restitution to help the victim buy a new backpack. The old backpack had been featured in the now-infamous Snapchat picture, and the victim feared being recognized as long as she wore it. Anyone who thinks this was a big fuss over nothing should keep this in mind.

Feuer told The New York Times that when this case broke, he was “incredulous” that there was no real penalty for posting a body-shaming picture online, even though taking one is clearly illegal. He persuaded the state legislature to consider a bill that would force those who post such pictures to foot the bill for removing it from the Internet. The state senate passed it unanimously; it’s now pending in the state assembly. Nonetheless, he was happy that Mathers finally came to her senses, since the message is now clear that “body shaming is not tolerated in our city.”


Mathers’ lawyer, Thomas Mesereau, said that his client apologized “from the bottom of her heart” for any harm that she caused. If you were really sorry, Dani, why did you drag it out this long?

Mathers hopes to go to nursing school once this is over. I’m not sure I would trust her in a position that requires that kind of trust, at least not this soon. Hopefully she can come learn from this–just not right away.

(featured image: screenshot via YouTube)

Darrell is a 30-something graduate of the University of North Carolina who considers himself a journalist of the old school. An attempt to turn him into a member of the religious right in college only succeeded in turning him into the religious right's worst nightmare--a charismatic Christian who is an unapologetic liberal. His desire to stand up for those who have been scared into silence only increased when he survived an abusive three-year marriage. You may know him on Daily Kos as Christian Dem in NC. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook. Click here to buy Darrell a Mello Yello.