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French magazine Lui is surely busy devising a damage control plan after it’s cover model, Sara Sampaio, publicly called out the publication for printing naked images of her. But it was the way the magazine team treated the Victoria’s Secret model on set that is hard to swallow.

Although Sampaio and her management had put into writing that the model would only shoot under the condition there would be no nudity, the 26-year-old said she was “aggressively pressured to do nude shots on set”.

“Even with the no nudity clause in my agreement with Lui… [the team] asked me why I didn’t want to show my nipples or go fully nude,” Sampaio recounted. “Throughout the shoot day, I needed to constantly defend myself to reiterate my boundaries with no nude images, making sure I covered myself as best I could. While reviewing the final images taken, I noticed that there were accidental exposures with parts of my body that I didn’t want exposed. I spoke up and was assured that those images would not be used. The magazine lied and proceeded to publish a cover image of me with nudity, which was in clear violation of our agreement.”

Sampaio says this “bullying” behaviour isn’t exclusive to this shoot. As the model had posed nude in the past, she said on many occasions photographers or stylists would “pressure, cajole or demand” she strip her clothes off with some even showing past images of her as examples. “Whenever I stood my ground and refused, I was criticised and judged as being difficult.”

“Just because I have posed nude in the past, it does not give anyone the permission to assume I would do it again under any circumstance,” she continued. “I have the right to show my body how, when, where and for whatever purpose I choose. It’s my choice. And when I make that choice, I expect to be treated with respect and professionalism.”

“Since the issue was released, I’ve been working with my agency and attorney to pursue legal action against Lui. I feel violated, mistreated and disrespected as a professional and as a woman.”