Dani Mathers rejoins Instagram, denies body shaming as trial looms
Playboy model Dani Mathers has rejoined Instagram as her trial date for body-shaming looms.
The 2015 Playmate of the Year committed career suicide when, in July 2016, she took an image of a 70-year-old woman in the shower at her Los Angeles gym and shared the photo to Snapchat–along with the caption, “If I can’t unsee this then you can’t either.”
Mathers was slammed on social media so badly that she wound up deleting her popular accounts. She was later charged with misdemeanor invasion of privacy under a California law that makes it illegal to secretly take a photograph of an “identifiable person” in a tanning booth, changing room, or in the person’s home without permission.
NYDN reports that a last-ditch effort by Mathers to have her case tossed was unceremoniously denied in an L.A. courtroom on Monday. Her defense argued that the image “was a far-away shot, and the victim, her features cannot be identified,” but the presiding judge ruled differently. The woman in the photo was later found by the police.
Mathers has slowly been reestablishing her presence on social media, and made the biggest remaining leap by hopping back on Instagram, the bread and butter platform for models, last week. When she returned to Facebook, she was met with an equal amount of angst, welcome, and forgiveness.
On Twitter she warned folks that any negativity would result in getting blocked:
https://twitter.com/DaniMathers/status/860165937273511936
She also denied ever having body shamed anyone:
I've never body shamed a person in my life, and I don't intend on starting now. But I'm glad you believe everything the tabloids tell you🙏🏽
— Dani Mathers (@DaniMathers) May 2, 2017
Twice:
Oh wow… I didn't shame anyone's body, however I will be praying for you. That is quite the opinion for someone who has never met me.
— Dani Mathers (@DaniMathers) May 7, 2017
Mathers’ lawyer indicated that Dani intends on testifying at the trial, which is tentatively scheduled for later this month.
Mather publicly apologized for the body-shaming image in a video, and attempted to explain that the photo was meant to be a private share and that she Snapchatted it to all her followers accidentally.
