Dani Mathers is one step closer to a trial in the body-shaming case against her.
The Playboy Playmate, who drew widespread wrath for allegedly posting a body-shaming photo of an elderly woman at her gym, suffered a legal defeat on Monday, with a judge denying both Mathers’ motion to dismiss the charges and her motion to continue, a representative for the Los Angeles City Attorney told TheWrap on Monday.
Mathers had contended that the law she was charged with violating is too ambiguous to pass constitutional muster, the New York Daily News reports.
According to the city attorney’s office, the next court date in the case is set for May 24.
Mathers is accused of secretly photographing a 71-year-old nude woman in the shower area of her L.A. Fitness gym and then posting it with the mocking caption, “If I can’t unsee this then you can’t either” via Snapchat.
Since allegedly posting the photo in July, Mathers has been banned from L.A. Fitness gyms and fired from her gig at Los Angeles radio station KLOS, where she appeared as a regular on the station’s morning show.
In November, Mathers was charged with one count of invasion of privacy, which carries a sentence of up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
In February, the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office scoffed at Mathers’ request to have her sentence deferred, stating that Mathers “does not qualify nor merit such leniency.
The city attorney cited Mathers’ perceived lack of remorse in its argument.
“Defendant petitions the court for diversion … however, she does not qualify nor merit such leniency. Her post-crime behavior is indicative of the fact that Defendant has never shown remorse for her behavior and therefore she should face the consequences of her cruel and criminal act,” the city attorney contended.
Dani Mathers' Snapchat Scandal and 7 Other Playboy Playmate Controversies (Photos)
Dani Mathers -- the 2015 Playboy Playmate of the Year who's currently under criminal investigation after photographing a nude woman at her gym and posting it on Snapchat -- is the latest Playmate to make shocking headlines, but she's hardly the first.
Read on for TheWrap's history of Playmate controversies.
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After serving as Playboy's 1968 Playmate of the Year using the name Angela Dorian, Victoria Vetri went on to appear in movies such as "Rosemary's Baby" and "When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth." Later, she would go on to receive a nine-year sentence for attempted voluntary manslaughter for shooting and wounding her husband during an argument.
Tanya Beyer was Playboy's Miss February 1992. She took a much less glamorous picture for her mug shot years later, after being arrested for trafficking in oxycodone.
The entire public life of Anna Nicole Smith (Playboy's 1993 Playmate of the Year) seemed to be one long controversy, from the battle over her billionaire husband J. Howard Marshall's fortune to her death in 2007 at age 39.
Sibling models Kristina and Karissa Shannon shared Playmate honors in Playboy's combined 2009 "summer issue." However, the two Playmates almost became inmates when they were charged with felony aggravated assault stemming from a fight at a house party. Luckily for them they received probation.
Perhaps not so much a controversy as a tragedy, Playboy's 1980 Playmate of the Year Dorothy Stratten was murdered that same year, at age 20, by her estranged manager/husband Paul Snider. Her story inspired two movies, "Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story" and "Star 80."
Playboy's 50th anniversary Playmate Colleen Shannon loved her boyfriend so much that she smuggled him into the U.S. from Canada. She was sentenced to four months in prison after pleading guilty.
After scoring Playmate of the Month honors in December 2009, Crystal Hefner (nee Harris) became engaged to Playboy boss Hugh Hefner in 2010. Apparently those wedding bells began to hit some bum notes, and she broke off the engagement in 2011, just days before they were to be wed. The abrupt about-face prompted Playboy to slap stickers reading "Runaway Bride" on the July issue of Playboy, which featured her on the cover. The good news? The pair reunited and married for real in 2012.
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From human smuggling to attempted manslaughter, a history of misdeeds committed by women who’ve appeared in Hugh Hefner’s skin mag
Dani Mathers -- the 2015 Playboy Playmate of the Year who's currently under criminal investigation after photographing a nude woman at her gym and posting it on Snapchat -- is the latest Playmate to make shocking headlines, but she's hardly the first.
Read on for TheWrap's history of Playmate controversies.