Sports Illustrated Almost Killed Kate Upton

I enjoy Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues. I have no problem with women in skimpy outfits. But this time, Sports Illustrated has gone too far. They had the bright idea of taking pictures of the girls in every continent, and one of those continents happened to be Antarctica. How do you take swimsuit photos in Antarctica? There were ways to do it - use a backdrop of Antarctica or use a more substantial swimsuit or have the girl in a swimsuit and a parka over it. Or at least, have a heater off-camera to keep the girl warm. I mean, surely you wouldn't put a girl out in the ice and snow with nothing but a skimpy bikini? Or even put her out there topless? I mean, people die in those sub-zero temperatures all the time.

Well, that's exactly what they did to Kate Upton for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2013 issue. Kate Upton has described how they would put her out there and she almost died. For real. She lost her vision and hearing, which is the first stage of hypothermia. All so we could get some nice pictures of her. As much as I enjoy the photos, it's not worth it. It really makes me wonder what kind of safety protocols they had for her or if this was just a stupid idea that no one had the guts to shoot down or think of the consequences.

Of course, the counter-argument is that she didn't have to do it. It's not like she was a prisoner. She could have just said "no." But we all know the pressure she's under. I mean, Sports Illustrated made her career. If she turned them down, she probably would never do SI again. And maybe she gets a reputation of being difficult. She also probably figured they would have ways to protect her, which they apparently didn't have. Also, she's only 20 years old. The point is, while Kate has a lot of responsibility for this, it's all SI to blame.