Top models, and best pals, Holly Carpenter and Thalia Heffernan have strongly criticised Miss Bikini Ireland organisers for running a topless photoshoot on Dublin’s Harcourt Street over the weekend.
The pictures of the bikini model hopefuls posing with their tops off on the busy street have stirred up plenty of controversy online, with many blasting claims that it was to raise awareness for breast cancer as “insulting”.
Former Miss Ireland Holly has also slammed the shoot, saying she feels sorry for the girls involved as she feels they were taken advantage of.
“I think there’s a lot of really good campaigns for breast cancer awareness out there and I don’t see how this is going to do anything,” Holly told the Herald.
“I don’t think the girls should have been put in that position. Obviously they were asked, or told, to take off their tops and I think when you start modelling you don’t realise that you can no say to things.
“They’re probably just trying to get a feel for what the industry is like, but I just think people are laughing at them now and I feel bad for the girls.”
She added: “People might say I’m a hypocrite because I did the bikini thing once when I was in the running for Miss Ireland, but at least we had our bikini tops on.”
And fellow beauty Thalia also didn’t hold back about the publicity stunt, staying that those involved “should be ashamed of themselves”.
She said: “The only awareness this is spreading is that objectification is still very much a huge thing in this country and anyone who was involved in the making of this should be ashamed of themselves for using these images to get publicity.”
“I feel so sorry for these girls, I don’t think people realise how wrong this is.”
However, Greg Ryan, CEO of the Miss Bikini Ireland Model Search, said the shoot “came from a good place”, and the girls wanted to take their tops off to raise awareness for breast cancer.
“If we offended people then I apologise for that,” he said.
Meanwhile, it’s a case of ‘no publicity is bad publicity’ for one of the hopefuls, whose image has gone viral after a cyclist was spotted in the background falling off their bike.
Ana Pavel was announced as the new face of BathStore And More, and to mark the occasion, she posed in the Swords showroom in a range of suggestive poses with a towel. You couldn’t make this stuff up…
