*Warning for mild nudity.
A Playboy model’s nude photo atop a sacred Maori mountain celebrating “freedom and empowerment” has New Zealand locals outraged at her disrespect.
After a 12-hour hike to the top of Mount Taranaki last week, Jaylene Cook stripped down to just her hat, gloves and shoes for the picture, snapped by her photographer boyfriend, Josh Shaw.
The photo is “not crude or explicit in any way,” the 25 year-old model told Stuff.co.nz. “We made ourselves knowledgeable on the history of the mountain. We were quite respectful. Being nude is not something that is offensive in any way. It’s natural and pure and it’s about freedom and empowerment.”
The Playboy playmate, who was featured in Playboy Mexico in January, did not think the photo would offend anyone and shared it with over 350,000 followers on her Instagram account where it has over 20,000 likes.
New Zealand residents, however, have slammed the photo as “disrespectful” and “inappropriate.”
“I accept people climb up to the summit, but what we do ask is that people be respectful,” Maori academic Dennis Ngawhare told Stuff.co.nz.
“I’d imagine you will be getting a few comments from people saying ‘what’s wrong with that? Who cares?’ But I also know cousins and relatives who will be quite upset about it. They would consider it as being disrespectful towards the mountain,” he added.
Ngawhare’s family has never climbed the mountain because it is believed to be the tribe’s ancestor.
“It’s culturally insensitive and not what I would expect someone to do on the summit of Mt Taranaki,” he said.
Cook, who was touring New Zealand with her boyfriend, said the decision to climb the mountain was his and it was unplanned.
“It was Josh’s idea. We thought that it couldn’t be too tough. So, we went to op shops to get some warm clothes. We started at 2am. It was tougher than we thought. I’ve never hiked before,” she said, adding that the minus 11 degrees Celsius temperature at the top was warmer than they expected.
She also explained that the couple waited for others climbers in the area to clear out before she stripped down for the photo.
“If someone did get a sneak peek they would have been a bit startled that’s for sure,” Cook said.
The model, who lives with with Shaw on the Gold Coast in Australia, insists they did their research before the hike and avoided standing on the head of the mountain top.
But New Plymouth mayor Neil Holdom said “people should show a little respect” as Mt. Taranaki is viewed by many locals as an ancestor.
“They should ask themselves how they would feel if someone took a photo of themselves naked, on the grave of a great grandparent,” he said.
An earthquake in the area that killed at least 16 people in 2015 was blamed on tourists who took nude photos of themselves on top of Mt Kinabalu, according to Stuff.co.nz.
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