A Playboy model who shared a photo of an unsuspecting naked woman in an LA Fitness gym locker room on Snapchat with disparaging remarks is being investigated by police, an LAPD official confirmed to the Los Angeles Times Saturday.
Detectives began investigating Dani Mathers after receiving a report of “illegal distribution” of the image, according to Los Angeles Police Department Capt. Andrew Neiman. He told the newspaper the incident was reported by LA Fitness.
The identity of the woman seen in the picture is still not known.
Mathers sparked a social media outcry after posting the photo, apparently taken surreptitiously, with the caption: “If I can’t unsee this then you can’t either.”
In the wake of the backlash, Mathers, the 2015 Playboy Playmate of the Year, had her membership revoked and was banned from all LA Fitness gyms.
“Her behavior is appalling and puts every member at risk of losing their privacy,” Jill Greuling, the company’s executive vice president of operations, told the L.A. Times Friday. “Our written rules are very clear: Cellphone usage and photography are prohibited in the locker rooms.”
One member of an LA Fitness gym told KTLA Friday he thought Mathers crossed a line.
“You shouldn’t be body-shaming anyone. That’s not cool,” he said. “I don’t see why you need to be sharing pictures of other people in the gym like that.”
Amid mounting criticism, Mathers issued a public apology over for the incident, saying she “accidentally” had posted the photo to Snapchat.
“That was absolutely wrong and not what I meant to do,” she said in a YouTube video. “I know that body-shaming is wrong. That is not the type of person I am.”
The apology was met with even more criticism, as many users questioned its sincerity.
“She is vile person, and is not sorry about what she did. She is only sorry that she got caught,” the most-liked comment on the page read.
Mathers apparently deleted her Twitter and Instagram accounts after the story gained nationwide attention Friday.
An online petition has been started on change.org asking police to arrest Mathers in the case. As of early Saturday afternoon, it had received more than 18,000 signatures.
