Melania Trump created an online frenzy in 2016 when The New York Post published a series of her nude photos from modeling days. She appeared in the January 1996 issue of Max, a French men’s magazine that ceased operations in 2006, under her original name Knauss. The then 25-year-old Slovenian beauty did the sultry photo shoot for French photographer Alé de Basseville. In an exclusive interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Melania defended her nude shoot, even though she felt it was unfair for the media to delve into her risqué modeling background . “I didn’t expect the media will be so dishonest and so mean. I didn’t expect that. I’m very proud I did those pictures,” the former model said.
She continued, “Also for me, from the beginning, I never had one correct story, one honest story. From New York Post, two days in a row, they put me on the cover with the pictures that I did many, many years ago as a model.” She added, “I’m not ashamed of my body. I feel very comfortable with myself and with my body. And they were talking about a European French magazine. And in Europe, we are proud of bodies, no matter what size you are. And it was done as an art, as a celebration of the female body. So they put it twice in a row.”
Modeling Career: Melania Trump started modeling at age 5 at local modeling shows in her hometown of Novo Mesto Slovenia. Her first show in fact was sponsored by her mothers employer a local clothing factory where her mother was a pattern maker. Before moving to the U.S., she… pic.twitter.com/qyYjTmdwzB
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The stunning pictures, which were taken from the front, back, and side, feature Melania pouting for the camera while sporting only high heels. Photographer Alexandre Alé de Basseville confirmed that the young model was comfortable in her skin while posing. “Melania was super-great and had a fantastic personality and she was very kind to me,” he said. “But Melania seemed very comfortable with the whole thing, and she was very professional.” The images were inspired by the Renaissance and a celebration of the female form, according to de Basseville.
Melania Trump on the business of politics and how her modeling career and the fashion industry helped prepare her: pic.twitter.com/GF3vtyZp66
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In the CNN interview, Melania expressed her dismay that female reporters were carrying out her made-up stories. “And it surprised me also because, in every story, it’s a female. It’s a female reporter. And that’s why when they went too far on the website, one of the websites and newspapers, and the blogger as well, I said, this is it. I will fight for myself. I will fight for my name. They cannot damage my name and my reputation because it’s not true,” she said.
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Recently, while promoting her latest memoir the former first lady again defended her choices, according to The New York Post , she posted a short clip on Instagram that began with her voiceover saying, “Why do I stand proudly behind my nude modeling work?” “The more pressing question is, why has the media chosen to scrutinize my celebration of the human form in a fashion photo shoot?” she continued. “Are we no longer able to appreciate the beauty of the human body?”
Images of well-known paintings and art featuring historic nude figures, such as Michelangelo’s ‘David’, Paul Cézanne’s ‘Bathers’, and John Collier’s ‘Lady Godiva’, were displayed along with her narration. In the clip, she also made the case that great artists have long admired the human form, stirring strong feelings of affection. “We should honor our bodies and embrace the timeless tradition of using art as a powerful means of self-expression,” Melania concluded with this advice.