Guillermo Diaz: Pinup Boy

Díaz hadn’t considered the morality clause, part of a standard television contract that he had signed with NBC. “I remember being really defensive and being like, ‘You guys don’t get it. What’s the big deal? I’m just naked. I’m not hard. I’m not fucking.’ ”

Mercy was soon canceled, so any contractual crisis was averted. Now the photos are available with a few keystrokes of a Google search. “It’s on Manhunt, and there’s this thing that says, ‘Would you fuck him or not?’ ” reveals Díaz. “And then it’s all these people talking about me and how I’m fat or ugly. I mean, there’s good stuff too, but the whole point of why I did the magazine is people acting that way.”

He did it to prove a point — to others, and to himself — that he doesn’t have to have a perfect body to be considered sexy, to be pinup-worthy, to be OK. “I’m not that hot guy, and I’m naked and you’re still talking shit about how I look. You’re proving me right. You know what I mean? It’s kind of sad.”

But he’s resilient: “I’ll just have to do another one. Just have to keep getting naked, until people get it.”