Jenna Jameson, the former Playboy cover model and adult film star, has sparked backlash after an ongoing rant on Twitter about Playboy's newest playmate being a transgender woman.
Ines Rau, a 26-year-old French model, is the featured playmate in the magazine's November/December issue.
While many all around the world have been celebrating the move as an important moment for LGBTQI representation, Jameson believes Rau's inclusion is "setting fire to the [Playboy] brand".
Jameson additionally told Fox News, "I just think it’s a ridiculous attempt by Playboy to stay relevant. It is a foolish decision that alienates its consumer base."
After heavy backlash to her tweet, Jameson began responding to people telling her that her views were transphobic.
Doubling down on her views, she also stated that she believed transgender women should not be allowed to compete against cisgender women in sporting competitions:
Jameson also insisted that her views were not transphobic, because she "loves her gay and trans peeps [people]":
In response to any backlash received about featuring a transgender model, Playboy tweeted this comparison, explaining they received an extremely similar reaction in 1965, when they featured their first black playmate:
Cooper Hefner - who took over the reigns of Playboy after his father Hugh Hefner passed earlier this month - told the New York Times that Rau was selected as the next playmate months earlier, explaining, "It’s the right thing to do. We’re at a moment where gender roles are evolving."
Jameson has become staunchly conservative in recent years, regularly tweeting anti-Islam and anti-'PC' rhetoric, even once tweeting a strange and highly-publicised tweet defending the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).
