Ashley Greene is the latest starlet to succumb to the get-naked-and-grow-up branding strategy. Recently, the Twilight star discovered (leaked?) naked pictures of herself on the Internet, the most modest of which is featured above. She alerted her lawyer about the scandal. In turn, the lawyer is now threatening to sue anyone displaying the pictures. People has more:
Nude photographs of Twilight star Ashley Greene have hit the Internet – and the actress’s attorney is warning: Post them and you’ll likely get sued.
“The photos in question, which appear to be of our client, are illegal and are being unlawfully displayed,” Greene’s lawyer says in a statement. “Our client intends to take legal action.”
“Illegal” in Internet-speak means that they’re a copyright violation. People sue for copyright violations all the time, but little ever comes of it. The legal chest thumping, then, could be part of Ashley Greene’s branding ploy.
I don’t want to sound like a conspiracy theorist–Ashley Greene’s pictures really could have turned up online by accident–but Greene could just be playing out the tried-and-true “get naked” form of attention-seeking. Miley Cyrus did it in Annie Leibovitz’s Vanity Fair cover shoot. Vanessa Hudgens showed up online in her birthday suit not too long ago.
Before appearing naked, both stars had girlish brands. Cyrus was best known as Disney’s Hannah Montana. Hudgens is famous for her role in High School Musical. However, after their pictures came out, it was impossible to see them as children anymore.
Enter Ashley Greene. She’s well-known, but not as famous as she would have liked after appearing in Twilight. The pictures appeared online. She asked her lawyer to help get them back off.
That could mean one of two things. A) She was genuinely shocked by the images, and wanted to use as much leverage as possible to get them off, or B) she wants to grow up while simultaneously protecting her brand. If B) is the case, a deliberate leak would make sense. She wants to gain media attention, portray herself as a woman, and add an elusive element to her brand by threatening people who post the images.
Are the Ashley Greene pictures really a scandal? Or are they a calculated branding move? What do you think?
