Topless Kate pix published in Ireland, Italy next

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-EXCITE

By NICOLE WINFIELD

ROME (AP) - The British royal family faced a multinational battle to contain the spread of topless photos of Prince William's wife Kate, as an Irish tabloid published them Saturday and an Italian gossip magazine planned to do the same despite the threat of legal action.

The royal couple's St. James's Palace office condemned the moves as unjustifiable and evidence of pure greed, and said it was considering "all proportionate responses."

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge sued French magazine Closer on Friday after it ran the photos, taken while Kate and William were on vacation at a relative's private estate in southern France last month.

The publication has been roundly condemned by British newspapers, which refrained from publishing them out of respect for the young couple's privacy, even though tabloids like The Sun run topless women every day on page 3 and ran pictures of Prince Harry naked in Las Vegas last month.



Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20120915/DA1ACQQ81.html

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Prince William, left, and his wife Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge walk through the rainforest in Danum Valley Research Center in Danum Valley, Sabab, Malaysia, Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012. (AP Photo/ Vincent Thian, Pool)

[broadcaster75201]

1. Maybe it's my age. Maybe its the age of the internet.

But I SO don't care. (no reflection on the OP at all). I mean ... really? Humanity is 12 year old boys giggling at tits? (And, again, I know that the OP didn't post this for that reason).

[smirkymonkey]

4. I'd have to agree with you there.

Something about this whole scandal is so juvenile. I've been out on topless beaches in Europe and nobody bats an eye at a woman who is topless any more than they do at a woman in a bikini.

On the other hand, I do think her privacy was invaded and that isn't right either.

[2on2u]

8. They say she has boobs you know. n/t

[PatrynXX]

14. yeah I'd say 100 % of women and men have been naked at some point in the majority of their lives

I've seen slightly blurred images. This is no Janet Jackson pussy photo's. But...... in France it's problematic because there is strict Privacy laws there. So thats where there's a problem. That and Princess Diana died there... so the penalty from the Government should be severe.

[emilyg]

16. Agree 100%.

[deutsey]

30. Yes,I agree

As fond as I am of breasts (preferably, real ones belonging to women I'm attracted to), this is such idiotic sniggering. "Huh huh...lookit the royal titties! Huh huh..."

[rayofreason]

2. Actually...

...with 15 seconds and Google you can find the pics easily.

But I have to say, if it were me, I'd be royally pissed as well.

[dipsydoodle]

3. The Irish one might not find it quite so funny soon.

Their UK joint owner has already announce they will pull out of the joint venture. In the absense of that JV the paper is likely to fold quite soon.

Aside from the fact I feel sorry for their 100 employees , due their editor's antics , the editor can go fuck himself.

The main reason the British newspapers refrained from publishing them is that they all realised if they did publish them it would result in an unprecedented loss of their hard copy newspaper sales.

[siligut]

5. Just trying to remain relevant

Seriously, she wasn't born yesterday. This is an attention grab. Woo Hoo.

[jaysunb]

6. I know it's not nice, but

I'd sure like to have a little peek. but I'm just not curious enough to go looking.

[Orrex]

7. How is this different from any other celebrity getting caught in an awkward situation?

And why does anyone care?

If any other celebrity had flashed the goods in full awareness that the paparazzi would be watching, then that celebrity would likewise have been plastered all over any publication that would pay for the pics.

[Sanity Claws]

9. I care because she was not in public

She was on an isolated estate. Paparazzi used extreme telephoto lens to get the picture. I am appalled at the lack of privacy. It looks like the paparazzi are going after her the way they went after Diana. We know what happened to her.

[Orrex]

10. If only she had some way to know about it before she married into the family

I mean, how could the poor woman have anticipated that her every breath would be scrutinized for the rest of her life? If only there had been some precedent for such pointless media attention!

Oh wait--now I remember! It was incredibly obvious from before they got hitched that she would be subjected to exactly this kind of non-stop paparazzi blitz.

It's the same as any other celebrity whose embarrassing voicemail goes viral. Microscopic scrutiny is part of the package and goes along with their fame. The lifestyle that The Royals enjoy is due 99.99% to public's insatiable (and preposterous) fascination with them, so this is neither surprising nor outrageous.

I feel worse for someone who winds up on those "people of Walmart" montages than I feel for dear ol' Kate.

[Sanity Claws]

12. Is your heart really so cold?

You seem so proud of feeling nothing but disdain for a young woman who did nothing more than marry a man she loved.

[Orrex]

18. Disdain? None for her, but plenty for the bullshit institution of "royalty"

It's an offensive anachronism, and anything that can highlight the absurdity of this embarrassing monument to class privilege is fine with me.

Let her marry whoever she chooses. Hell, let him marry whoever he chooses, too. But they are, first and foremost, celebrities who enjoy lives of luxury and who are occasionally treated like celebrities.

[Sanity Claws]

20. You are confusing the issue

The issue is the invasion of privacy. Kate was in a private secluded setting when the photos were taken. Even a celebrity is entitled to some level of privacy.

It doesn't matter whether she was a member of royalty, a well-known movie star, or a celebrated politician. People should not have their privacy invaded like that. The paparazzi did it just to make money off her. Shameful.

[Orrex]

25. They wouldn't have bothered if she weren't a celebrity

That's the issue. Whether it was right or wrong is not the issue. An international celebrity MUST realize that he or she faces more intense media attention than does a non-celebrity, and they should act accordingly. If that means not allowing nude or Nazi photos to be taken of oneself, then that's how it goes.

I'm sorry that Kate will have to live the next six decades or so in astonishing luxury with the adoration of millions. One can only hope that she knew what she was getting into.

[JanMichael]

26. so was Jackie Kennedy Onassis in 1971

full frontal nudes....

This has been going on for over 40 years; the royals AND celebrities need to learn to keep their clothes on. Acting shocked and outraged isn't going to change anything.

[Alameda]

34. I agree with you 100%!

Just because one is a celebrity does not make them fair game for all sorts of disgusting predatory behavior. They deserve their privacy too.

[whistler162]

13. Yes we all know it is the woman's fault....

that seems to be the latest psuedo-democrat meme!

[Orrex]

17. Nice try

I would say exactly the same if we had an example of a male from the royal family likewise subjected to media scrutiny.

Oh wait--we do! We were recently treated to nude photos of Prince Harry, too. Not to mention the pics of him in his Nazi costume a while back!

If you want to pretend that it's some kind of half-assed "blame the woman" bullshit, then good luck to you. The simple fact is that an international celebrity is reaping the benefits of international celebrity. And at the end of the day she'll withdraw into her palace and sleep on a bed of 1000-year-old virgin oak or whatever. Ditto for Harry.

I have no sympathy for a preposterously wealthy celebrity--male or female--who has to live with the consequences of being a preposterously wealthy celebrity. Boo hoo hoo.

[adigal]

29. I really can't find much sympathy for them

They aren't stupid, they know that many, many actresses have been caught topless or naked on private estates, even those with huge walls around them. The paparazzi climb trees, rent copters, c'mon, if you don't want to be caught topless, keep it in the house. Now, if she was Inside, she would have a beef here.

Remember the paparazzi pics of bill and Hillary dancing on the beach? Hillary wasn't stupid. She kept her top on. As has Caroline Kennedy, Chelsea Clinton, Grace Kelly, and countless other famous female people who didn't want these type of pics taken. So boo hoo. Keep your clothes on when outside if you don't want these type of pics out there. Simple enough for a 3rd grader. Maybe the royals aren't that bright.

[Botany]

11. You can see them (her breasts) by using the google but ....

.... so what? It looked like she had nipples too

BTW 3 things

I hope everybody has seen a breast by now

I wish people would leave her alone

I really don't give a rat's ass about royalty .... it is made up gibberish

BTW part 2 the only thing that should get you excited about seeing a breast is if it is attached to
somebody you are going to are have had sex w/.

[Frank Cannon]

32. The pictures are so blurry, it's no big deal.

I've seen clearer images of Bigfoot. And they were more interesting.

[SoapBox]

15. hmmm...and all the while, 4 Americans were killed in Libya

and "riots" (if you will) rumble...and they have some perv with a long distance lense, to take pics of breasts.

This world is fucked up.

[Orrex]

19. Good point!

On HuffPo earlier today, fully seven of the nine headlines visible on my phone were about dear Kate.

[cosmicone]

21. I don't know what the brouhaha is all about

She has really small ones. Nothing to arouse the Guinness book.

[olddad56]

22. Heavens to Betsy, if these royal shenanigans don't stop, the next thing we will find out is that ..

this married couple has been having sex.

[jonthebru]

23. Its just not a big deal.

They should ignore the situation deflect questions and not acknowledge the photos.
That said, in my humble opinion she should gain some weight.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

24. This may shock you Royalists, but someone can be free and still be a Lady.

[Firebrand Gary]

27. This whole thing makes me disgusted!

There is a difference between freedom of speech and invasion of privacy!

[tularetom]

28. Oooh, royal titties!

I was disappointed to find out that they looked pretty much like any other breasts, at least the ones I've seen.

[Sivafae]

31. From Crabby Golightly

But I can't help thinking that seeing Kate casually sunning topless liberates all women who are perpetually and simultaneously slut-shamed and judged on their appearances. It pokes holes in our projections that princesses are asexual, like plastic Barbie dolls without vaginas. And it normalizes the female form, negating the power of pornographers and those who objectify women's bodies.

The more we see women comfort in their naked bodies -- and not flaunting them sexually, the more we eliminate the power of shame. And wouldn't that be the best revenge against the paparazzi?

[Alameda]

35. You miss the point, she deserves her privacy be respected.

Particularly when on a private estate in a country where they have reasonable expectations of privacy.

[panzerfaust]

33. Breaking News: Women have breasts!

IMHO the photographer is simply a slimy peeping tom - and he (I am assuming) should be prosecuted as such.

People, even disgustingly parasitic 'royals', have a right to privacy.

Whats next - a royal arse on the toilet?

[patricia92243]

36. I assume they are on YouTube or somewhere else on the internet. They just need to chalk this up to

a lesson learned - and move on.

[fedsron2us]

37. In the UK non-consensual voyeurism is a criminal offence under S67 Sexual Offences Act 2003

carrying prison sentence of up to 2 years and can result in an individuals name ending up on the Sex Offenders Register.

http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/s_to_u/sentencing_manual/s67__voyeurism/

For this reason as much as the UK editorial code of ethics most British papers will not go near the photographs even if they were taken in France .