Playboy Playmate of the Year 2015 Dani Mathers is seen sporting the Playboy bunny costume during the NAMM show last January. (Photo : Getty Images / Daniel Knighton)
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has launched an official investigation into a Playboy model following reports of "illegal distribution" of an image of a naked woman inside an LA Fitness gym locker room. The model being investigated is 29-year old Dani Mathers, who was heavily criticized online after secretly photographing the unidentified woman and posting it online.
Mathers previously posted the photo of the naked woman on Snapchat, with the caption "If I can't unsee this then you can't either." She apologized after receiving a barrage of negative replies about body-shaming and has since deleted the photo, however it appears she is not yet out of trouble.
LA Fitness, in a report by ET, has revoked her membership and banned her from all its branches, according to a gym spokesperson. The gym also stressed that photography is "prohibited in the locker rooms" and said that they notified the police regarding the incident. The health club has over 800 branches across the USA and Canada.
Captain Andrew Neiman of the LAPD confirmed that they obtained a report from LA Fitness concerning "illegal distribution" and stated that detectives were looking into the matter, according to the Los Angeles Times. The LAPD's West division sexual assault section is in charge of the case.
Aside from the investigation and gym ban, Mathers was also suspended from the Heidi and Frank radio show, where she appears as a regular. She has received a lot of flak online with critics calling her apology "insincere." Mathers said that she meant for the photo to be sent privately, but "accidentally" posted it publicly instead. She has deleted her Twitter and Instagram accounts following the public criticism.
Mathers, who was crowned Playboy Playmate of the Year 2015, posted her apology video also on Snapchat, acknowledging that what she did was wrong and that she is not "the type of person" who would do such a thing. She also promised to never do it again.
The LAPD investigation is on behalf of LA Fitness but Mathers could face a misdemeanor charge if the victim elects to come forward and file a complaint. Mathers' public apology video is below:
