Melania Trump defends nude modelling pics
Melania Trump has spoken out about her past nude modelling work, asking why people have chosen to “scrutinise” her old career now.
World
Don't miss out on the headlines from World. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Former first lady Melania Trump has defended her past nude modelling work in a new promotional push for her upcoming memoir, taking to Instagram to discuss her career as a model.
“Why do I stand proudly behind my nude modelling work?” Mrs Trump said in a voiceover on a post to Instagram.
“The more pressing question is, why has the media chosen to scrutinise my celebration of the human form in a fashion photo shoot?” she said.
“Are we no longer able to appreciate the beauty of the human body?”
Mrs Trump’s voiceover was featured alongside images of famous works of art featuring nude figures, including Michelangelo’s David, Paul Cézanne’s Bathers, and John Collier’s Lady Godiva.
“Throughout history, master artists have revered the human shape, evoking profound emotions and admiration. We should honour our bodies and embrace the timeless tradition of using art as a powerful means of self-expression,” she said.
The video was the fourth snippet from the typically tight-lipped Mrs Trump, who has been busy promoting her eponymous memoir before it is released on October 1.
In a previous video, Mrs Trump questioned the police’s potential role in the July 13 assassination attempt on her husband Donald Trump.
In a subsequent post, she shared a sweet throwback photo with her son Barron, now 18, and discussed the rewards of parenthood.
Mrs Trump was born in Slovenia in 1970 and became a model as an adult.
She posed nude for a French adult magazine in 1995, and then again on Mr Trump’s private jet for British GQ in 2000.
At the time of the GQ shoot, she had been dating the former US President for about two years. They married in 2005.
The photos — none of which showed full-frontal nudity — resurfaced in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election.
Photographer Antoine Verglas told US media at the time that the future first lady insisted on not doing “full nudity” during the risqué photo session.
“Melania was a very reserved person. She was definitely not someone who you would see in nightclubs or going out a lot,” he said.
“Pretty down to earth, very nice, very warm.”
MELANIA FUELS ASSASSINATION CONSPIRACY THEORIES
Former first lady Melania Trump has intensified conspiracy theories about her husband Donald Trump’s survival of an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania.
In a video posted just hours before the presidential debate, she called for answers from authorities, reigniting public scrutiny and speculation.
Thomas Crooks, 20, opened fire at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania on July 13 from a rooftop just 120 metres away from the stage where the former president was speaking.
Mr Trump was shot in the ear, one onlooker was killed and another was wounded.
“There is definitely more to this story and we need to uncover the truth”, the 54-year-old wife of the Republican presidential candidate opined in a 30-second video posted to her social media accounts on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST), prompting a fresh burst of speculation about the now deceased shooter, whose background and motives largely remain a mystery almost two months on.
Mrs Trump continued: “I can’t help but wonder: why didn’t law enforcement officials arrest the shooter before the speech?”
“The attempt to end my husband’s life was a horrible, distressing experience … Now, the silence around it feels heavy,” she added, speaking in front of a dark background dressed in a black suit.
https://t.co/ZCTwZSqZNDpic.twitter.com/KKA6anTEYC
— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) September 10, 2024
The shooting sent shockwaves through US politics and triggered widespread condemnation of the Secret Service, whose chief Kimberly Cheatle later resigned, for failing to secure the roof from which Crooks shot despite local police and spectators’ having observed Crooks’ behaving strangely with a weapon at least 30 minutes before he began firing.
Multiple ongoing investigations into the attempt to murder the 45th president, including within congress, the FBI, and the department of homeland security, have failed to quash swirling conspiracy theories on the both the right and left.
Theories including Crooks was part of a “deep state” plot to kill the president or the shooting was a deliberately failed attempt designed to make the former president look courageous for political benefit.
Others point to the a allegedly remarkable lack of media interest in Crooks or the fact his body was cremated quickly.
On Tuesday, Mrs Trump hit out at “efforts to silence” her husband ahead of the release of her explosive tell-all book.
The memoir, Melania, is slated for release on October 8, ahead of the November 5 presidential election between Mr Trump and rival Kamala Harris.
In a short video posted on social media on Monday (Tuesday AEST), Mrs Trump declared that “the 2020 election results changed our lives forever” – and not for the better.
“It impacted our quality of life, cost of food, gasoline, safety and even the geopolitical landscape,” she said.
“America is more divided today than ever before.
“It has become increasingly apparent that there are significant challenges to free speech as demonstrated by the efforts to silence my husband.”
https://t.co/ZCTwZSqZNDpic.twitter.com/Xvn7Q4gUpZ
— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) September 8, 2024
Mrs Trump didn’t detail the alleged efforts to “silence” her husband. However, these efforts are thought to involve his removal from several social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, following the Capitol riot in Washington DC on January 6, 2021.
The 54-year-old, who shares 18-year-old Barron with Mr Trump, may have also been referring to the criminal charges that have been brought against her husband since he left the White House.
Mr Trump has been convicted of falsifying business records to enable hush money payments to his mistress, adult film star Stormy Daniels, in the lead-up to the 2016 election.
This affair occurred while he was married to Mrs Trump, including shortly after the birth of their son, Barron.
Mrs Trump appeared in a video last week promoting her memoir, vowing it will tell “the truth” and calling out her “misrepresentation”.
“Writing this memoir has been a deeply personal and reflective journey for me,” the former first lady says in the promo video.
“As a private person who has often been the subject of public scrutiny and misrepresentation, I feel a responsibility to clarify the facts,” she adds.
“I believe it is important to share my perspective, the truth.”
The video also shows images of Mrs Trump touring Africa and hosting events for her anti-bullying “Be Best” initiative.
The former first lady’s time at the White House was controversial at some points.
A standout was a leaked recording of Melania unhappy that she had to take part in Christmas events.
“I’m working … my a** off on the Christmas stuff, that you know, who gives a f**k about the Christmas stuff and decorations? But I need to do it, right?” she is heard saying in the recording.
Her fashion choices also tainted her reputation, notably a khaki Zara jacket she wore with the words “I don’t really care, do u?” during a visit to see detained children at the US border.
TRUMP’S RARELY-SEEN SON EMERGES FOR FIRST DAY OF UNI
The youngest son of former President Donald Trump has been spotted arriving at New York University to start his first day of college.
Barron, who is the only child of Mr Trump and his third wife, former First Lady Melania Trump, has enrolled in the university’s Stern School of Business for his freshman year.
The 18-year-old was flanked by Secret Service agents as he stepped onto the downtown Manhattan campus with a black Swiss Gear backpack casually slung over his shoulder.
Dressed in a white polo, black pants, and Adidas Gazelle sneakers, the teen’s initial visit was to the dean’s office before he was quickly taken to his classes, according to the New York Post, citing unnamed sources.
It was not immediately clear if NYU will implement heightened security measures for students this year given the presence of Barron’s Secret Service on his first day.
He is expected to live off-campus and commute daily from his father’s Trump Tower building on Fifth Ave in Midtown, sources said.
“It’s a very high quality place. He liked it. He liked the school,” Mr Trump told the Daily Mail.
“I went to Wharton, and that was certainly one that we were considering. We didn’t do that. We went for Stern.”
Barron’s choice of college has generated significant curiosity in the months before the academic year began.
The Daily Beast first reported in April that NYU was Barron’s preferred option, marking a departure from the Ivy League route taken by his father and several of his siblings.
Mr Trump exclusively revealed to The Post last month that his son would be attending a university in New York this fall but stopped short of revealing its name.
The 45th president added that the teen had been accepted into multiple schools.
“He’s always been a very good student, he’s smart,” Mr Trump said at the time.
The ex-commander-in-chief has also previously said his son has already taken an interest in politics — and even sometimes advises him on what to do.
Barron graduated from the elite Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida, in May.
More Coverage
Originally published as Melania Trump defends nude modelling pics
Join the conversation
‘Go to hell!’: Trump’s Christmas rant
Donald Trump has posted a strange Christmas message, in which he has doubled down on his plans to purchase Greenland.
Read more
Xmas ruined by ‘rancid’ supermarket turkeys
Christmas has been “ruined” after “disgusted” supermarket customers found their turkeys were “rotten” and “rancid”.
Read more