The talk in various newspapers about the demise of Page Three in The Sun appears to have been premature, with the tabloid printing a picture of a topless model.
Various groups have called for an end to Page Three, arguing that a photograph of a topless woman has no place in a daily newspaper, and Rupert Murdoch recently described the practice as “old fashioned”.
On Tuesday, The Sun’s sister publication The Times said that the newspaper would no longer feature topless women on Page Three. Many welcomed the end to the controversial and out-dated “institution”, but The Sun made no official statement.
In Thursday’s issue, The Sun “trolled” other media outlets and anti-Page Three camapigners by printing a topless photograph of a 22-year-old female model, with the caption beneath reading:
“Further to recent reports in all other media outlets, we would like to clarify taht this is Page 3 and this is a picture of Nicole, 22, from Bournemouth.
We would like to apologise on behalf of the print and broadcast journalists who have spent the last two days talking and writing about us.”
It is currently unclear whether The Sun has resumed printing nude women on Page Three regularly or if the newspaper is attempting to rewrite the narrative of stopping the practice to appear more powerful and independent.
