CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
As former Alaska governor and GOP vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin contemplates her post-gubernatorial political future, Levi Johnston, the father of her first grandson, by daughter Bristol, is mulling over offers to pose nude for two magazines with largely (if not almost exclusively) gay readerships.
In a telephone interview on Wednesday, Tank Jones, Levi's manager-bodyguard, confirmed to Advocate.com that negotiations were underway with both Unzipped Media and Playgirl.com to have Bristol Palin's baby daddy take it all off for an exclusive photo shoot.
"Naw, that's serious. Mr. Butler is doing that," Jones said, referring to Levi's lawyer, Rex Butler, when asked if such a photo shoot might actually happen.
Rick Andreoli, executive editor of Unzipped Media -- whose owners also own The Advocate -- also confirmed that Unzipped magazine had made an overture to Levi about appearing au naturel in an upcoming issue.
"When Levi was on Bravo saying that he was willing to pose nude if the offer was right, we made an offer to Tank Jones and we're waiting to hear back on that," Andreoli said.
The specter of Johnston doing a nude photo spread was raised by behind-the-scenes video from a photo shoot set to accompany a feature titled "Me and Mrs. Palin" in the October 2009 issue of Vanity Fair. In the video Jones and Levi are captured discussing a potential Playgirl pictorial while riding in an SUV.
"I'd do it ... if it would get me out of there," Levi says when Tank initially asks him about posing in the buff.
However, neither Jones nor Johnston seems to know much about the current state of affairs at Playgirl. While Levi thinks Playgirl is all about "a dude posing for women," Tank seems to be unaware that the print version of the magazine folded late last year.
"You've gotta have some johnson. You can can't come in there lacking in the johnson area. You've gotta unfold some things, " Jones says of the potential Playgirl spread while lecturing Levi in the video. " A dude posed for the magazine and they had to add an extra leaf to fold out for him ... [so] I'm saying, do you need extra magazine or do you don't [sic] need that?"
The exchange left Unzipped's Andreoli scratching his head.
"What's confusing is that on the Vanity Fair video, Tank is talking about how Levi is going to pose in the magazine, but there is no Playgirl magazine. The real offer is for Levi to pose for Playgirl.com. A lot of people are under the assumption that Playgirl is still publishing print magazines, but it's not,."
Perhaps even more intriguing is the notion that Levi appears to be completely unaware of just who reads Playgirl.
"The problem is that I think there's a misconception on Levi's part. He thinks that Playgirl is a magazine where guys pose nude for women," Andreoli said. "As a gay man, I can tell you that's not your primary audience at Playgirl. Many of the models that are seen in Men or Unzipped have also been in Playgirl. There's a huge overlap of our models."
And despite a story this morning on Gawker suggesting that a deal between Johnston and Playgirl.com was as good as done, Jones said nothing is confirmed.
Confusion aside, no matter the audience for any photo shoot Levi may appear in, Jones is very clear: His client is completely comfortable.
Asked how Levi felt about becoming a gay sex symbol, Tank said, "I'm gonna be honest with you ... you've got to understand that you're dealing with a young man here, and what he has done is he's broadened his horizons. However he has felt in the past, this [experience] has afforded him the opportunity to meet a lot of different people and find out that people are just people. Sometimes, some things happen for a reason ... and [Levi's] eyes are open, so we don't care what kind of situation it is or who views the magazine."
That said, don't expect anything too outrageous from a naked Levi.
"If we do anything like this, it's going to be done tastefully and professionally. We're not going to do any smut ... We're not committed to anything," Jones said before adding that negotiations have not yet reached such a level as to warrant discussion about restrictions or limitations on a potential photo shoot.
If Johnston, who made his shirtless debut in GQ just a few months back, does end up stripping down for a photo shoot, it will only be the latest salvo in his war of words with Sarah Palin, who once called his family "trailer trash."
Ironically, even though Johnston's recent revelatory media tour has proved to be something of an embarrassment for Palin, the former governor has remained conspicuously quiet, suggesting Johnston might have the potential to strip away more than his clothes if given the opportunity.
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Here Are Our 2024 Election Predictions. Will They Come True?
November 07 2023 1:46 PM
17 Celebs Who Are Out & Proud of Their Trans & Nonbinary Kids
November 30 2023 10:41 AM
Here Are the 15 Most LGBTQ-Friendly Cities in the U.S.
November 01 2023 5:09 PM
Which State Is the Queerest? These Are the States With the Most LGBTQ+ People
December 11 2023 10:00 AM
These 27 Senate Hearing Room Gay Sex Jokes Are Truly Exquisite
December 17 2023 3:33 PM
10 Cheeky and Homoerotic Photos From Bob Mizer's Nude Films
November 18 2023 10:05 PM
30 Steamy Photos of Folsom Street Fair 2023 Debauchery
October 15 2023 11:06 PM
42 Flaming Hot Photos From 2024's Australian Firefighters Calendar
November 10 2023 6:08 PM
These Are the 5 States With the Smallest Percentage of LGBTQ+ People
December 13 2023 9:15 AM
60 Burly Pics from Bearrison Street Fair 2022
October 08 2023 8:30 PM
Watch Now: Advocate Channel
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Latest Stories
Plus
Yahoo FeedInjectable HIV treatment, prevention: Everything you need to know
March 26 2024 10:45 PM
Ronna McDaniel, tied up by her Trump lies, drowns in an aquarium of her own making
March 26 2024 9:00 PM
The ultimate guide to cannabis in Provincetown
March 26 2024 6:40 PM
New York Times fails to include trans voices in coverage, say GLAAD, Media Matters
March 26 2024 6:31 PM
Pete Buttigieg commits federal resources to Baltimore bridge collapse recovery
March 26 2024 5:47 PM
The horrific reality of transgender individuals in Texas prisons
March 26 2024 4:30 PM
Three more arrested in murder of queer Brazilian politician Marielle Franco
March 26 2024 3:41 PM
New Hampshire advances trans-exclusionary sports bill
March 26 2024 3:24 PM
Pride
Yahoo FeedFind your perfect fit with gender-inclusive fashion from The Pride Store
March 26 2024 2:16 PM