Model who posed nude at sacred Maori site says they're not Indigenous
Oh boy.
Playboy model Jaylene Cook has been on the receiving end of outrage for posing nude on top of New Zealand's Mount Taranaki then posting on Instagram.
The volcano is sacred to the Maōri people, and Cook has received a deluge of comments, pointing that out.
Now she's made things a whole lot worse for everyone involved, by saying Maōri people are not Indigenous.
"Hey Jaylene, would you do a nude photo shoot at a church or a war memorial, or do you only like to disrespect Indigenous sacred sites? Hope your five mins of fame was worth the curses that will haunt you for life," wrote Instagram user @maorimermaid, according to the New Zealand Herald, in comments now deleted.
"Lol. Get a clue before you jump on the bandwagon. Maori are NOT Indigenous you ignorant twat," Cook reportedly replied.
Cook told radio station Newstalk ZB that both she and her boyfriend were "surprised" at the angry reaction. She claimed they had done her research beforehand -- although admitted she didn't tell locals that she was planning to strip nude.
"It was something that just happened. There was nowhere that we read, or were told that it was a bad thing to do -- and we believe that it still wasn't. We see nudity as art and natural," she said.
Cook said she was "sorry that people felt that we were being disrespectful, that was never our intention whatsoever."
But she'd also happily do the picture again, and claims she's received "overwhelming support" from local Maōri for the contentious photograph.
Topics Instagram
