
Law and Order actor Chris Meloni appears to be courting controversy after he tweeted a naked picture of Melania Trump from her modelling days.
He captioned the tweet with a quote from the first lady:
‘Focus on what I do, not what I wear’
Our First Lady.
Meloni’s tweet is a tongue-in-cheek response after the first lady’s wardrobe choices in Egypt - during a wider visit to Africa - were criticised for being "colonial".
People on social media had compared her outfit to that of Colonel Sanders or Meryl Streep from her role in Out of Africa.
She had lamented:
I wish people would focus on what I do, not what I wear.
Meloni’s tweet went down like a lead balloon, with Democrats and Republicans temporarily casting aside differences in what appeared to be a united front.
One person wrote: "This is really sexist. She was a model, she was working at her job as a model, and this was her job to be photographed this way. It’s really really uncool to show the photos of her working as though it were an expression of her true self."
@Chris_Meloni This is really sexist. She was a model, she was working at her job as a model, and this was her job t… https://t.co/LdgyRdaQCp— Mistress Matisse (@Mistress Matisse) 1539024257
Others criticised Meloni of shaming the first lady based on a job she used to have.
@scof_nyc @Chris_Meloni Neither are appropriate. I dislike Melania Trump for her part in birtherism and hypocrisy w… https://t.co/2bI1DUkCko— Justin Bozied (Pronounced bo-zaid) (@Justin Bozied (Pronounced bo-zaid)) 1539030798
@Chris_Meloni Man. Not cool, dude.— 🌼porn mom🌼 (@🌼porn mom🌼) 1539035337
@ThatRandomMan83 @Chris_Meloni Yah, dude, I mean I’m not her biggest fan, even so... criticizing her nude modeling is nonsense.— 🌼porn mom🌼 (@🌼porn mom🌼) 1539035767
@Chris_Meloni https://t.co/1wBgeFuBpB— steven (@steven) 1539023808
The tweet is decidedly tone deaf.
@Chris_Meloni Who cares? If a woman wants to pose naked, she can do it if she wants. It’s not hurting anyone. There… https://t.co/9qDLsmkUTV— Angie Moon 🌙 (@Angie Moon 🌙) 1539045237
Others are calling for Meloni to delete the tweet and apologise for engaging in slut shaming.
White men: if you aren’t listening to women who are trying to explain why your posts are sexist and slut-shaming (… https://t.co/SgzmBcNBT9— Mary King (@Mary King) 1539033423
@Chris_Meloni This is not a convincing response to her statement. Nor is this sort of response how we create a bett… https://t.co/RPVRIINE5X— David Ziff (@David Ziff) 1539027220
Despite criticism, Meloni didn’t back down. In a set of follow up tweets, he responded to one person asking him to take it down: ‘Why take it down? Help me to understand.’
“Focus on what I do not what I wear” https://t.co/Ooupz4uwfK— Chris Meloni (@Chris Meloni) 1539023615
Explain please https://t.co/LQAgMRsIJH— Chris Meloni (@Chris Meloni) 1539023978
Hm... wud not be the first time my “humor” was taken... differently than intended. She’s “wearing” thus there’s no… https://t.co/yW2RHNkRTD— Chris Meloni (@Chris Meloni) 1539024616
“What I wear”: she’s not wearing anything! I thought that was meh funny The other pic- “focus what I do” part, with… https://t.co/gg7ZYyRaYQ— Chris Meloni (@Chris Meloni) 1539026173
In another, in which he responded to someone who says his tweet disrespects models, he said:
“What I wear”: she’s not wearing anything! I thought that was meh funny
The other pic- “focus what I do” part, with her on the wing of a jet wearing a bikini and wacky shoes pointing a gun- THAT, to me was also ironic/funny
It seems to be the nudity that ppl got a hang up with
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