Melania Trump defended her nude modeling photos in her latest promotional video for her upcoming memoir, comparing them to the work of “master artists.”
“Why am I proud of my work as a nude model?” she says in the 45-second video posted to her social media accounts on Wednesday morning.
“The most pressing question is: why have the media decided to analyse my celebration of the human forum in a fashion shoot? Are we no longer able to appreciate the beauty of the human body?”
The video is just a voiceover of the former first lady, and while it doesn’t show any nude photos of her, it does use photos of famous works of art, such as Michelangelo’s David statue.
“Throughout history, great artists have revered the human form, evoking deep emotion and admiration. We should honor our bodies and embrace the timeless tradition of using art as a powerful means of personal expression,” she says.
This is the fourth video Melania Trump has posted on social media ahead of the release of her memoir on October 1. It has been an unusual marketing strategy to get people to buy her book in advance.
The incident comes four days after a second assassination attempt on her husband, Donald Trump. Melania Trump has yet to comment on Sunday’s incident, when a suspect was found hiding just outside Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, while he was playing a round.
Melania Trump has been posting videos online to sell her upcoming memoir
In a previous video, Melania Trump demanded answers about the first attempt on her husband’s life.
The first video focused on Melania herself, where she joked that it was time to give her perspective: “the truth.” The second focused on her husband Donald Trump, where she questioned the role of law enforcement in the attempted assassination of her husband. The third video focused on her son Barron, where she spoke about the challenges and rewards of motherhood.
Her book, simply titled ‘Melania’, is set to be released on October 1. It is available for Pre-order on Amazon for $30.
He is selling two editions: a $150 collector’s edition with 256 full-color pages, each copy signed by the author. The memoir edition will be 304 pages long and available for $40, and signed copies for $75.
The former first lady has been the subject of many biographies and books, but this is the first time she has told her story.
It is unclear whether he worked with a co-author and whether he will go on a book tour.
Photos of Melania from her modeling career appeared during the 2016 election, the first time Donald Trump ran for president.
In the year 2000, Photos published by British magazine GQ Melania in various forms of nudity. None of the published photos showed full frontal nudity. The images were taken aboard Donald Trump’s private plane.
At the time, she was not married to Trump. The two were dating and he allowed her to use his plane for the photo shoot to help boost her modeling career.
She is the only known first lady to have posed nude for a publication.
Antoine Verglas, the French photographer who shot the shoot, told ABC News during the 2016 presidential campaign that he turned down “tens of thousands of dollars” to license Melania’s photos to other magazines.
He said Melania insisted there be no “full nudity” in the images used by the magazine.
“Melania was a very private person. She was definitely not someone you’d see clubbing or going out a lot,” he said. “She was very down to earth, very personable, very warm.”
Melania Trump’s memoirs to be published on October 1
She also posed nude in a photo shoot for a French adult magazine in 1995, a decade before she married Donald Trump.
The New York Post published the photos during the 2016 presidential campaign.
The images were originally published in the January 1996 issue of Max, a men’s magazine that is no longer in print. They did not appear online until the 2016 election.
At the time, Donald Trump and his campaign defended her.
“Melania was one of the most successful models and participated in many photo shoots, including for covers and major magazines. This is a photo I took for a European magazine before I met Melania. In Europe, photos like this are very fashionable and common,” said Donald Trump.
And senior campaign adviser Jason Miller told CNN: “They’re a celebration of the human body as art. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. She’s a beautiful woman.”