By NYAH TENNELL<\/p>\n
Dani Mathers, Playboy\u2019s 2015 Playmate of the Year,\u00a0has been fired from her job, banned from all LA Fitness gyms and is now being hit with\u00a0legal penalties\u00a0after posting a nude locker room photo of a stranger to her Snapchat account.<\/p>\n
Mathers is being accused of posting a photo of a naked 70-year-old woman in the shower area of a Los Angeles fitness center, with the caption, “If I cant unsee this then\u00a0you can’t\u00a0either,”\u00a0<\/a>sparking immediate backlash and, on Friday, criminal charges.<\/p>\n Yes that is right, Los Angeles city prosecutors have charged Mathers with a misdemeanor\u00a0invasion of privacy, with the Los Angeles Times<\/em> calling it a \u201cpioneering prosecution against body-shaming.”<\/a><\/p>\n An article appearing in the Washington Post<\/em> on July 18 written by Rachel Premack outlined the legalities <\/a>of the case, noting the act is illegal under California law. A 2014 revised section of the California penal code <\/a>notes that it is a misdemeanor to look \u201cwith the intent to invade the privacy of a person\u201d into places like a changing room, where a person has \u201ca reasonable expectation of privacy,\u201d with a camera. Under this law, it\u2019s illegal generally to distribute an image of the \u201cintimate body part or parts\u201d of another person \u201cwithout the consent of or knowledge of that other person.\u201d<\/p>\n As a result, Mathers has been banned from all LA Fitness centers across the United States, and has been indefinitely suspended from her job as a host on “The Heidi and Frank Show” on 95.5 KLOS in Los Angeles, TMZ reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n Phil McCausland of NBC News<\/em>, stated that the case could send “legal shockwaves,” <\/a>noting that this is one of the first times someone has been criminally\u00a0charged for a body-shaming social media post.<\/p>\n While body-shaming in itself is not a crime, it is important to note that there are circumstances in which invading or violating ones privacy to do so can be deemed as a crime.<\/p>\n In the midst of the social media frenzy, Dani Mathers issued a public apology via her Twitter account<\/a>, saying, “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.”<\/p>\n Whether sincere or not, courts do not recognize apologies and, according to NBC News<\/em>, if convicted, Mathers could face <\/a>up to six months of jail time and a $1,000 fine.<\/p>\n The arraignment is schedule for Nov. 28.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By NYAH TENNELL Dani Mathers, Playboy\u2019s 2015 Playmate of the Year,\u00a0has been fired from her job, banned from all LA Fitness gyms and is now being hit with\u00a0legal penalties\u00a0after posting a nude locker room photo of a stranger to her … Continue reading