Magazine protests censorship, puts nude child on cover

The Australian magazine Art Monthly featured a nude six-year-old on its July cover, reportedly to protest artistic censorship. The Sydney Sunday Telegraph reported that Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd did not support the decision.

"I have very deep, strong, personal views on this, which is that we should be on about maximizing the protection of children," Rudd said. "I don't think this is a step in the right direction at all."

Art Montly editor Maurice O'Riordan reportedly selected the cover shot to support artist Bill Henson, whose photographs of a nude 13-year-old were briefly displayed in a Sydney art gallery, prior to being seized in a police search.

O'Riordan said he hoped the July edition of his magazine would restore "dignity to the debate" of artistic representation of children.

"Maybe this is bold, but I don't see the need to give in to that sort of hysteria or the prospect of complaint," he said.

Melbourne photographer Polixeni Papapetrou took the cover photo of her daughter Olympia Nelson, currently age 11, back in 2003.

Nelson recently described the picture as "really, really nice," and denied suggestions that it constituted child abuse.

"I love the photo so much. I think that the picture my mum took of me had nothing to do with being abused, and I think nudity can be a part of art," she said.

Hetty Johnston, executive director of Bravehearts, an Australian organization that aims for a "movement for change" in how pedophilia is addressed in the court of law and the community, disagreed, calling the magazine photos "sexual exploitation of children."

Johnston added that the rights and protection of children should come before artistic merit.

"When those two things collide we have to err with the children; it has to be in the best interests of the children,'' she told the Nine Network. "I can't see in any circumstance where taking a photograph of a naked child is in the child's best interests. We need laws to make it clear; the laws are flaky and the laws aren't able to protect children."

Prime Minister Rudd threatened to pull the backing for the government-funded magazine if it refused to comply with new protocols regarding the depiction of children.

Nicole Kidman denies nude photo shoot

Nicole Kidman has laughed off rumors that she posed for a pregnant, nude photo shoot a la Demi Moore and Britney Spears.

The actress, who is reportedly expecting a boy this summer with husband Keith Urban, said that while she did take part in a photo shoot with legendary photographer Patrick Demarchelier, the idea that it was nude was "hilarious" and "total nonsense."

"total nonsense. It was not that kind of a shoot," Kidman told the Daily Mail. "It's madness to think I did that or was even asked to do that. I'm just looking forward to having and caring for our baby."

Demi Moore posed while pregnant for the cover of Vanity Fair in 1991, and Britney Spears did the same for Harper's Bazaar in 2006.

Lily Allen is mad at the paps

British singer Lily Allen has been photographed in less than flattering poses lately - and she recently wrote a MySpace blog post (coped and pasted verbatim), ranting about the paparazzi's work and invasion of her privacy.

"For the record I was not thrown off anybodys yacht in Cannes , occasionally I drink wine with lunch and yes i swim topless , this in my book is not embarrasing behaviour," she wrote. "I'm 23 years old it's not my fault if photographers follow me everywhere and need a story to print with their pointless pictures ."

" I wish digital cameras hadn't been invented ," she continued. "On the other hand digital pictures are easier to retouch , so i shouln't complain ."

Although Allen does have a point, the paparazzi may not find her as interesting of a subject if she kept her clothes on!

Miley Cyrus embarrassed by sexy magazine spread

Miley Cyrus has had her fair share of sexy photo scandals - but this one is definitely for real!

The 15-year-old teen queen appears in the June issue of Vanity Fair in poses that make her appear naked. One photo in the spread, shot by renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz, shows the Hannah Montana star topless and wrapped in what looks like a satin bedsheet.

In the article by Bruce Handy, Cyrus said, "Annie took, like, a beautiful shot, and I thought it was really cool. That's what she wanted me to do, and you can't say no to Annie... I think [the photo is] really artsy. It wasn’t in a skanky way."

But she had a completely different view Sunday. "I took part in a photo shoot that was supposed to be 'artistic' and now, seeing the photographs and reading the story, I feel so embarrassed," the singer-actress told E! in a prepared statement. "I never intended for any of this to happen and I apologize to my fans who I care so deeply about."

The Disney Channel also defended its cash cow, telling E! News "a situation was created to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines."

Vanity Fair spokeswoman Beth Kseniak defended both the magazine and its photographer: "Miley's parents and/or minders were on the set all day. Since the photo was taken digitally, they saw it on the shoot and everyone thought it was a beautiful and natural portrait of Miley."

Parents expressed their outrage this weekend after "Entertainment Tonight" showed commercials promoting a Monday story - that Cyrus posed topless (but with her chest covered) for Leibovitz and Vanity Fair.

"Parents should be extremely concerned," said Lin Burress of Telling it Like It Is, a marriage and parenting blog, during an interview. "Very young girls look up to Miley Cyrus as a role model."

Numerous news reports have speculated that the photo spread could cause permanent damage to the franchise built around Disney's Hannah Montana.

"For Miley Cyrus to be a 'good girl is now a business decision for her," Gary Marsh, president of entertainment for Disney Channel Worldwide, said in last week's Portfolio magazine. "Parents have invested in her a godliness. If she violates that trust, she won't get it back."

Topless Audrina?!?!

Recently I was reading Splashnewsonline.com and they have apparently obtained topless photos of the Hills' hottie sidekick Audrina. They should be posted by Friday morning. Scandalous!! Check them out here

Lindsay’s Parents Okay With Naked Photo Shoot

Lindsay Lohan’s recent recreation of Marilyn Monroe’s legendary final photo shoot with photographer Bert Stern has made quite a splash in the media. Like the original pictures of Monroe in 1962, Lohan was photographed nude or clad in seductively see-through fabric.

Both of Lindsay’s parents have released statements in support of their daughter’s decision to pose nude and believe that the photographs were taken in good taste. Dina, her mother/manger, told the press that she views the pictures ”artistically” and that it was an honor for Bert Stein to call Lindsay and ask her to do the shoot.

Lindsay’s father, Michael Lohan agrees with her mom and told Us Magazine “Lindsay is an adult, and she knows the direction she wants to take her career. It’s her decision.” He did add, however, that he does not intend to look at his pictures claiming, "That’s my daughter!”

Additionally, he expressed concern that Lindsay’s life might parallel Marilyn’s in more ways then just the photo shoot, and with the way the troubled young starlet’s life seems to be heading her father’s trepidation is not entirely off base.

Although Lindsay was aware that she would be posing nude in the shoot her publicist, Leslie Sloane Zelink, claims that they didn’t think that the New York Magazine would actually run the nudes. Personally, though, I think it’s pretty obvious that a magazine would want to go ahead and publish the naked pictures they just took, but maybe I’m just a little jaded.

Zelnik maintains that Lindsay “loves the photos,” and all in all the Lohan family seems to be proud of Lindsay’s pics. Watch the video below, and check out the PG version of some of them for yourself.

Lindsay Lohan poses nude!

Readers of New York magazine will be seeing a lot of Lindsay Lohan this spring. The actress poses nude in the spring fashion issue, recreating Marilyn Monroe's famous 1962 photo shoot for veteran lensman Bert Stern.

Lohan's Feb. 5 shoot was also photographed by Stern. She said she was comfortable with the nudity, although she did admit to doing 250 crunches the night before.

While some people wondered if the nude photo shoot was an appropriate choice for the party girl actress who has been in rehab three times, her mom Dina has expressed her approval.

"It was very tastefully done," Dina Lohan told People. "I respect the photographer as an artist, so I look at them artistically. For him to call Lindsay 46 years later and to say can you recreate these photos is an honor. I looked at it as art, and as Lindsay doing a character. So I don't look at them like it's Playboy; she was being a character. So if you look at it that way, you can look at it as a mother."

She added that her daughter, a Marilyn Monroe fan, viewed the photo shoot as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"Lindsay was very excited when she first got the phone call," Dina Lohan said. "Of course we talked about how they would be done. Lindsay said, 'Mommy, I'm never going to get this opportunity to do it again.' She was very thankful she was asked."

Jennifer Love Hewitt Shoots Down Playboy

Jennifer Love Hewitt, 28-year-old star of CBS's supernatural drama Ghost Whisperer, has turned down big money offers to pose nude in Playboy. Unfortunately for her many male fans, Hewitt will not be getting back at the recent media attacks concerning her weight gain by shedding her clothes for the camera.

It seems that her retaliation to the comments about her pear shaped and cellulited figure will end at her blog posting where she states "Like all women out there should, I love my body…To all girls with butts, boobs, hips and a waist, put on a bikini - put it on and stay strong."

Although she loves her body enough to get in a bikini, apparently her infatuation doesn't extend as far as stripping down in front of America. Personally, I don't blame her, but I'm sure there are plenty of guys out there who will be disappointed that they won't get the chance to see a topless J-Love.

Hudgens apologizes for nude photo

High School Musical's leading lady Vanessa Hudgens (wholesome brainiac Gabriella) has apologized for a a photo surfacing on the Internet of her standing naked in a bedroom.

The nude photo appeared Thursday, and on Friday more photos of a coquettish, yet clothed, Hudgens appeared.

"I want to apologize to my fans, whose support and trust means the world to me. I am embarrassed over this situation and regret having ever taken these photos," Hudgens said in a statement. "I am thankful for the support of my family and friends."

Hudgens' reps issued a statement saying the photos were taken in private, yet did not reveal who took them and how they were leaked.

Hudgens is dating HSM co-star Zac Efron and has been involved in talks to sign for High School Musical 3. Insiders say that both will appear in the third installment.