Two major U.K. publications have drawn backlash after they published nude imagery of actor Jodie Whittaker, shortly after she was named as the first female lead on British sci-fi series Doctor Who.
The U.K.’s Sun greeted the news of the first female doctor with video from a nude scene from the 2007 film Venus, in which Whittaker played a character who modelled for an art class.
Meanwhile, The Daily Mail published stills from a nude scene in TV series The Smoke, in which Whittaker played a firefighter’s girlfriend. It also published nude and topless photos of ex-Doctor Who stars Matt Smith, David Tennant and Christopher Eccleston.
READ MORE: Jodie Whittaker revealed as new ‘Doctor Who,’ show’s 1st-ever female lead
The pictures drew backlash from Equal Representation for Actresses (ERA), a group that challenges the “British broadcast, film and theatre industry’s unconscious bias against women.”
“We are delighted by the casting of Jodie Whittaker as the 13th Doctor,” ERA said in a statement provided to The Guardian.
“However, we are surprised and disappointed by the Daily Mail [Mail Online is owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust] and the Sun’s reductive and irresponsible decision to run a story featuring pictures of Jodie in various nude scenes.”
On its Facebook page, ERA noted that David Tennant had played Casanova and that Peter Capaldi, another ex-Doctor Who star, had unleashed a “string of profanities” in the show The Thick of It.
“Did The Sun report their ‘less family friendly roles’? Or publish photos of them without clothes?” the group asked.
But ERA wasn’t alone in criticizing the publications.
They also drew a round of derision on Twitter:
The announcement of Whittaker as the new star of Doctor Who was embraced by many who welcomed the casting of a woman in its lead role.
But the decision to cast her also had its detractors.