Playboy Playmate Paying Stiff Price For Body Shaming Post (WITH VIDEO)

Earlier this week, we told you that 2015 Playboy Playmate of the Year Dani Mathers caught well-deserved heat for posting a picture of a naked woman in the locker room of an LA Fitness club to Snapchat. Well, in the last few days, Mathers has learned the hard way that society’s tolerance for body shaming is less than zero.

Within hours of her despicable behavior becoming public knowledge on Thursday, Mathers posted a somewhat half-hearted apology to YouTube, saying that she only intended the picture to be part of a “private conversation.” It wasn’t good enough for LA Fitness. According to TMZ, which first broke the story, within hours of the story becoming public, Mathers was banned from ever setting foot in any of LA Fitness’ 800 clubs again for life.

LA Fitness subsequently confirmed the ban on Twitter.

The message was obvious–private or not, snapping pictures in a locker room is unacceptable, period.

Before July 14 was out, Mathers had also been bounced from her longtime gig on KLOS, the nation’s oldest album-oriented rock station. She had been a regular on the “Heidi & Frank” morning drive-time show for some time. KLOS owner Cumulus Media issued a statement condemning Mathers’ body shaming Snapchat in the strongest terms, and announced that “all of her scheduled on-air appearances and segments have been canceled.”

Depending on the source, Mathers has been suspended indefinitely (per TMZ) or fired altogether (per The Wrap). What is beyond dispute is that Mathers won’t be appearing on the air for a long time. TMZ collared hosts Heidi Hamilton and Frank Kramer for their thoughts on Mathers’ behavior. Watch here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DM3gfSWfEvU

Hamilton and Kramer were more disappointed with Mathers than anything. Hamilton hoped that “a bigger conversation” occurs that allows some good to come out of a bad situation. Kramer hoped that Mathers could potentially “recover” from what he called “a major faux pas.”

Mathers has mostly gone to ground since the incident. She has walled off all of her social media accounts. She did, however, fire off an email to her fellow Playmates apologizing for her “thoughtless and mean-spirited” post.

But Mathers may have worries more fundamental than finding a new health club, appearing on the radio, or mending fences with Playboy. She could potentially face criminal charges. On Friday, Entertainment Tonight learned that the Los Angeles Police Department opened a criminal investigation into the body shaming, at LA Fitness’ request. The police are looking into whether Mathers violated California’s law against “disseminating private images,” a legal term for revenge porn. It carries a penalty of up to six months in jail, up to three years’ probation, and a $1,000 fine.

The victim hasn’t come forward yet. However, ET reports that if and when she does, it will significantly speed up the process of the investigation. Additionally, the victim has grounds for one whopper of a lawsuit.

I hope that Mathers does face charges–and gets jail time. A real person was humiliated online–even if just for a few hours–and the signal has to go out that body shaming and revenge porn are not acceptable. Even if it’s for only six months, it sounds like Mathers needs to be humbled–severely.

(Featured image courtesy 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.