Why Suzanne Somers Once Sued Playboy (And Posed For It Again In 1984)

On UPI, Suzanne Somers discusses her feelings about her original test photos, and why she didn't want them made public. "Iwas hurt and furious when Playboy printed the pictures without my consent," she stated, saying that she "did a lot of kicking and screaming." Ultimately, she was concerned that she simply didn't look good enough.

On UPI, Suzanne Somers discusses her feelings about her original test photos, and why she didn't want them made public. "I was hurt and furious when Playboy printed the pictures without my consent," she stated, saying that she "did a lot of kicking and screaming." Ultimately, she was concerned that she simply didn't look good enough. "'Those pictures were taken of me when I was 18," she said. "I still had a lot of baby fat. I'd just had a baby and the photographs were supposed to be a test. They were lousy pictures. I weighed 20 pounds more than I do now." She concluded, "Why not have some good ones that show me in the best shape I've ever been in after six years on the road, doing two shows a night, six nights a week? 

The reader might expect this kind of conflict to lead to an unreconcilable rift between Somers and Playboy, but no. After the settlement of $50,000, Playboy reached out to Somers later in 1984. For that shoot, however, Somers wanted to approve the photos. Playboy resisted because they didn't want to establish a precedent of models dictating photography conditions or photo usage, but in the end, as Somers said, they "were gents and lived up to the bargain." The magazine wound up with 14 Somers-curated photos, which she described as having "a Bardot quality, stylish and classy." Plus, her mother said the whole thing was fine if she "remained a lady."

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