Much has been said about former first lady Melania Trump’s nude modeling past, but now a photographer who shot her in the buff has come forward to give his two cents.
French photographer Alexandre Alé de Basseville snapped pictures of Trump in 1996 in a duplex studio with a rooftop at West 26th Street and Sixth Avenue. He spoke to Women’s Wear Daily from Paris about his experience and what he makes of their controversy.
“They’re saying 1996. That was a long time ago. We’re talking about a time that doesn’t exist anymore,” he said.
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The pictures de Basseville took were featured in Max, a now-defunct French men’s magazine. At the shoot, Trump worked alongside another model, Emma Eriksson, and de Basseville described Trump as “perfect for the scenario.”
“She was really professional and really nice,” de Basseville told the fashion outlet of Trump’s demeanor towards everyone on set. “She’s proud of the photos and I am so glad that she saw the same thing that I saw,” he added, while claiming he cannot remember the last time he spoke to Trump and was only alerted to her recent comments after people messaged him separately.
After the shoot, de Basseville remembers, so he and Trump had a drink together in SoHo. “We were talking about life and what we should do [laughs] and stupid stuff. It was like two friends hanging out together just having a good time, after doing something that was emotionally strong. It was really nice,” de Basseville said.
“When you have a first lady, who was as beautiful as she was, why would that be any different than all of these kings and queens, who have been represented naked in art for centuries and centuries? What is the difference between [that] and Alexander the Great [nearly] naked on his horse? Who doesn’t like ‘David’ by Michelangelo? I think it’s hypocrisy or jealousy maybe,” de Basseville said of the photos’ hubbub.
Commentary around her past nudity ramped up again when Trump addressed her modeling work in an X video promoting her upcoming memoir on Wednesday.
“Why do I stand proudly behind my nude modeling work? The more pressing question is why has the media chosen to scrutinize my celebration of the human form in a fashion photo shoot?” the 54-year-old mother asked in the video.
Late-night host Stephen Colbert ribbed Trump’s video during his monologue Wednesday night.
“Ah yes, the thing the media is definitely scrutinizing - the 24-year-old naked photo shoot of Melania on Trump’s plane,” the host quipped.
Trump also famously posed nude aboard her hubby’s private jet for a 2000 spread in British GQ.
