French magazine Closer may have broken French privacy laws in publishing topless pictures of Kate Middleton, but it was a risk taken in hopes of boosting on-stand sales, experts say.
Privacy laws in France are notably strict — a fine of around 30,000 euros or more could be slapped on any publication that chooses to break the rules. However, Thomas Roussineau, a specialist in privacy law, says the magazine may have published Middleton’s compromising photos because they knew they would yield a bigger profit.
“They will have a big revenue, and the amount of the sentence will not equal the revenue they will make, it will be a very small part of the revenue they will have from these pictures,” Roussineau told The Guardian.
Profitable or not, the legality of the photos is an undeniable issue.
“It is totally forbidden,” Roussineau said of Middleton’s topless photos. “The castle is not the street, it is in a private place, and they are intimate pictures.”
Closer‘s editor-in-chief, Laurence Pieau, stands by her decision to publish the scandalous photos. In an interview with Sky News, she described the photos as a “beautiful series” that were in no way degrading. She said the magazine had more intimate shot but opted not to publish them.
“We were the only ones to have the information,” she said. “We knew that these pictures were exclusive and we were the only ones to have them. There wasn’t any pressure of any kind. We took the decision to publish a certain number of pictures.”
However, Hollywood wasn’t so keen on the Duchess of Cambridge’s topless photos plastered across the magazine’s cover.
Fashion Police host Kelly Osbourne took to her personal Twitter to slam the publication, writing, “I feel so sorry for #KateMiddleton it’s disgusting what that French mag did to her!”
CNN anchor Piers Morgan chimed in about backlash Closer faces in publishing the photos, tweeting: “Current percentage of ‘outraged, disgusted, deeply offended’ people currently scouring internet for Kate topless pix? I’d guess at 99.999%.”
What do you think of the Duchess’ topless photo scandal? Are you Team Kate or Team Closer? Sound off in the comments.
See how the St. James Palace reacted to the scandal — below.
