Written by By Laura Tice , CNN San Francisco, CA
Just shy of her 35th birthday, Sienna Miller announced she was pregnant with her first child this week.
‘Now you know’. The iconic cover of The Sun. Credit: The Sun
The ‘baby bump’ cover of this month’s edition of The Sun — the UK tabloid that revealed the actress had undergone a six-hour plastic surgery surgery procedure and was now a mother-to-be — caused “outrage and shock’ and is probably one of the most iconic covers in UK tabloid history.
The cover reads “Now you know, world exclusive”.
Actors and models including Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and Elle Macpherson have all graced the cover for the publication, which is renowned for photographing its models in pre- or post-surgery.
It was difficult for some to believe “Sienna Miller naked and pregnant”, as Sun photographer David M. Benett tweeted.
‘No story was intended to harm her daughter’
The Sun published several photos of Miller and her baby bump in addition to a full article in the issue dedicated to the news, which includes a description of the cover.
The photos were obtained by the newspaper under a “no pictures without permission” agreement from Miller’s agent, Jason Knauf.
Knauf said he decided not to publish the images themselves. “I did not feel the need to show her naked,” he told the Daily Mail. “She clearly didn’t mind being photographed, and it was clearly her choice. I would happily show her naked with her daughter today.”
Benett said his intention was to give the pregnant actress the kind of treatment you would give someone who had been in a car accident. “The shoot was for the magazine so we were not reporting the news of her pregnancy,” he said. “It was an intimate moment.”
There was no intention to cause any hurt to her or her family, he added.
On Thursday, Miller tweeted an unflattering photo of the tabloid’s headlines as well as a long statement about the decision to take legal action against the newspaper.
“This cover story has shocked me deeply and recently led to me taking legal action against The Sun after the publication of my naked body and possibly misleading headline,” she said.
“My right to private and family life is sacred, and The Sun trampled all over that. No story was intended to harm her daughter but its sheer brazenness is grotesque. This power trip just exploited Sienna’s body and made a gross intrusion into her private life. Those responsible have shown complete disregard for what the cover of my magazine implied.”
She also alleged that Sun publisher, News UK, has prevented her from getting similar coverage with other publications.
Benett denied that he or any reporter had engaged in unlawful conduct or that he and the photographer who took the photos had misled readers. “We have two high-profile, successful models on the cover, and both did not object to being in the photographs,” he said.
The Sun was not immediately available for comment.