Nude celebrities on the Internet
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Along with almost every other communication technology ever invented, the Internet has been popular for transmission of pornography. One genre that has become particularly popular is images and videos of nude celebrities.
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[edit] Background
The commercial demand for images of nude celebrities has been known for many decades. Playboy magazine is renowned for offering famous women large amounts of money to appear nude in its magazine, and more downmarket pornographic magazines search far and wide for nude pictures of celebrities taken unaware — for example, when they are bathing topless or nude at what the subject thought was a secluded beach, or taken before the individual was well-known. These paparazzi photos are in high demand among the yellow press.
Many images found on the Internet and in the yellow press are fake images, primarily made with various digital image manipulation techniques. In the US, the possibility of civil court action restricts the availability of such photos through the print media. On the Internet, the difficulty of applying court sanction makes circulation of such photographs much less risky. Untold numbers of such photographs circulate through Usenet, and fly-by-night commercial operators, often in countries beyond the reach of courts, also offer such photos for commercial gain. Copyright restrictions are often ignored.
[edit] Real images
Real images of nude celebrities fall into four main categories:
Film screenshots: Many actors and actresses have done nude or partially nude scenes in non-pornographic mainstream films. Screenshots from these films are circulated widely and can usually be recognized by the low picture quality (from video). However, increased popularity of broadband Internet access makes possible the distribution of actual video clips and higher quality images, these usually copied from DVDs. Most screenshots of these scenes are displayed in several frames as tiles.
Paparazzi photographs: Occasionally, celebrities are photographed in revealing real-life situations; the most common scenario is a woman sunbathing topless usually on a beach, yacht or by a pool. The photos are usually taken from a distance and rarely reveal more than breasts. These rare occurrences include paparazzi shots of fully nude celebrities such as, Uma Thurman, Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow, Vanessa Paradis, Janet Jackson and Alyssa Milano amongst others. Other types of paparazzi images of nude celebrities include 'nipple slips', in which low cut dresses, lack of a bra, an accidental fall of clothing or camera flash glares may reveal a celebrity's nipples. Examples include Alyssa Milano, Alexandra Kerry, Tara Reid, Sophie Marceau, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan
A final form is the increasingly frequent occurrence of an "upskirt" shot of female . Most such images show underwear, but some situations (such as celebrities exiting cars) have resulted in snapshots which show genitalia; these include images of Farrah Fawcett, Margaret Trudeau, Paris Hilton, Jessica Simpson and Lindsay Lohan.
Nude photo shoots: Mainstream sex magazines such as Playboy or photographic art magazines such as Black and White routinely feature nude shoots of celebrities. Some celebrities have modelled for nude photographs prior to becoming famous. Such images are often later redistributed in digital form by the publisher, or by a third party. Blu Cantrell appeared naked in Black Tail magazine in 1995.
Stolen private materials: Rarely, private sexual photographs or videos are stolen or obtained from a former lover/spouse and show up on the Internet. Some famous examples are Tonya Harding's "wedding video", private videos featuring Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee, a video made by Paris Hilton and her then-boyfriend, Rick Salomon, and a stolen video from Fred Durst's computer
A few celebrities whose real nude Internet pictures have become mainstream items include Pamela Anderson, Tonya Harding, Tommy Lee, Chu Mei-Feng, Jude Law, Colin Farrell, Janet Jackson, Paris Hilton, Brad Pitt and Pete Wentz.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Penn Jillette. "Free Celebrity Nudes!", Excite, October 15, 1997. — an early article about the phenomenon.
- "These Are Definitely Not Scully's Breasts!", Wired, November 2003. — another article about the phenomenon.
[edit] External links
- The Case Files of the Fake Detective (note: contains nudity)
