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Chris Evans shouldn’t be ‘embarrassed’ after accidentally leaking nude pics – we need to get over the fact penises exist


Captain America actor Chris Evans has spoken of his ’embarrassment’ after accidentally leaking nude pictures (Picture: AP)

Perfect lighting, an elongated arm, time of day – there’s an art to taking the perfect d*** pic.

My phone is full of them. And I’d hedge a bet most guys I know, regardless of sexuality, have taken one or two in their time. Or, rather, several hundred.

Penises. Half the world has one. And most of the rest have at least seen one.

They’re not a big deal, right?

Wrong. Captain America actor Chris Evans nude leak this week proves as much.

The response has been massive – albeit, for the most part, supportive (although, tweets obsessing over and fetishising the pictures do not fall under that umbrella, in my opinion).

I first noted just how weird people were around penises – particularly erect ones, especially outside a sexual context – a few years back.

Chris is known for film roles including Before We Go and Snowpiercer (Picture: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)

Some friends of mine persuaded another friend to share his nudes; I thought he looked great in them, but they – the very people who had relentlessly begged him to show his penis – immediately turned on him, and mercilessly mocked him with no good reason.

He was forevermore ‘the d*** pic guy’, a shameless over-sharer whose nudity and sexuality were a disgrace.

I was reminded of this incident when Chris spoke of his ’embarrassment’ over his pictures this week, after initially, and admirably, using the matter to draw attention to civic duties by tweeting: ‘Now that I have your attention… VOTE Nov 3rd!!!’

‘Look, it was a very interesting weekend, full of lessons learned,’ he said on The Tamron Hall Show.

‘You know, things happen. It’s embarrassing but you gotta roll with the punches. I will say, I have some pretty fantastic fans who really came to my support. That was really, really nice.’

Yes, he’s had a lot of support. But it breaks my heart that Chris feels embarrassed at all. What’s more, the whole thing scares me.

Who, in an age of smartphones and OnlyFans, hasn’t taken nude photos of themselves? Who isn’t a little slapdash with social media sometimes? And who isn’t vulnerable to ‘violating’ hacks such as Jennifer Lawrence in 2014, and as Bella Thorne discovered recently?

Suffice to say, the response to Chris’ leak would have been unimaginably different if he were a woman. And while I’d like to think we’ve moved on from the drubbing Pamela Anderson, Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian and Tulisa got when their sex tapes went public – that, in 2020, we’d consider some such cases revenge porn – I’m not convinced we have.

In fact, having seen Billie Piper’s brilliant Sky drama I Hate Suzie – in which singer-turned-actor Suzie has naked photos of herself hacked and then released to the world – I’m utterly convinced we haven’t.

What’s more, the reaction to Chris’ nudes would have been very different were he not one of the world’s most popular and desired people.

Imagine the ridicule and condemnation if he was an MP over 50, or a billionaire with a small penis, or a transgender person. Or if his penis was, for whatever reason, unpalatable. It doesn’t bear thinking about.

Besides which, Chris was subjected to some very unhelpful commentary himself.

Some claimed Captain America had ‘scandalised’ social media – synonyms for ‘scandal’ including ‘impropriety’, ‘misconduct’, ‘offence’ and ‘wrongdoing’, FYI. A truly idiotic choice of word.

As such, Chris’ days-long silence before the aforementioned tweet and interview spoke volumes. He wasn’t obliged to address it but, as a famous person, he was going to attract scrutiny either way; public figure or not, unjust professional and personal repercussions can occur when such things happen.

And it could happen to almost anyone. So why do we continue to treat the body, and particularly the penis, like a taboo subject? As something either pornographic, hilarious or shameful? Keep in mind, an erect penis was only shown on terrestrial TV in the UK for the first time recently, as part of Channel 4 documentary My Penis & I.

‘I want the images in the film to normalise the penis; especially the erection,’ artist Ajamu, fronting the show, told Metro.co.uk. ‘By keeping it taboo we give it too much power and don’t allow men to be vulnerable.’

My message to Chris? Be vulnerable, but don’t be embarrassed. And to the rest of the world? Some people have d***s. Get over it.

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