Leaked Nude of Politician Changing During Zoom Meeting Sparks Backlash

A leaked photo of a Canadian politician naked during a virtual parliamentary meeting has sparked a backlash about the non-consensual sharing of nudes. 

The photo—a screenshot from a House of Commons meeting on Zoom—shows Liberal MP Will Amos nude, apparently in the midst of changing after a jog. It's unclear who shared the original image, though multiple media reports say it was first obtained by the Canadian Press.

“I made a really unfortunate mistake today & obviously I’m embarrassed by it. My camera was accidentally left on as I changed into work clothes after going for a jog. I sincerely apologize to all my colleagues in the House. It was an honest mistake + it won’t happen again,” Amos tweeted Wednesday evening, after the screenshot started circulating. 

Amos was the punchline of many jokes and the story and photo were shared by media outlets locally and internationally, including the Toronto Sun, New York Post, TMZ, and Sky News. 

In a since-deleted Facebook post, Conservative MP Diane Finley asked, “Is this the ‘complete transparency’ that the Libs promised???” After Question Period Wednesday, Bloc Quebecois MP Claude DeBellefeuille raised the issue with the Speaker of the House. 

"We have seen that the member was in very good shape, but I think this member should be reminded of what is appropriate and to control his camera,” she said in French, requesting a reminder that male MPs should wear “a shirt, underpants, and pants.”

On Thursday, Liberal MP and government leader in the House of Commons Pablo Rodriguez requested an investigation into who leaked the photo, the Canadian Press reports. 

“Taking a photo of someone who is changing clothes and in the nude and sharing it without their consent could very well be criminal,” Rodriguez said.

“Are we really at the point in our politics that it is acceptable to try and destroy the reputation and humiliate a colleague because someone finds an unfortunate error and unintentional mistake to be funny?” 

Catherine McKenna, minister of infrastructure and communities, tweeted, “Appalling that someone would publicly share a picture of a colleague that was embarrassing & clearly a mistake.” 

Ottawa-based sexual violence prevention educator Julie Lalonde said sharing nudes without consent is illegal in Canada. She said leaking the photo was a violation of privacy meant to humiliate Amos. 

Lalonde said she’s disappointed that so many people, including progressives, were cracking jokes about the incident. 

“You’re either laughing at someone who’s having the worst experience of their life or you're laughing at people who were subjected to nudity without their consent at work. I just can’t find an angle where that would be funny to me,” Lalonde said. 

Lalonde said it’s difficult to get people to take online and workplace harassment seriously and the jokes undermine that effort. 

With nudes in particular, Lalonde said bystanders play a huge role because they help make an image go viral. Even spreading rumours about an image without sharing it can result in more bullying for the victim, she said. 

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