Anna Kournikova news, gossip, pics
At Entertainment Weekly, Kristin Baldwin interviews Anna Kournikova (or at least, as Baldwin herself puts it, "lobs some stupid questions her way") about her new workout video entitled Basic Elements. Sample question: "Your body looks kind of shiny in the video. Did they spritz you with baby oil or something?"
Entertainment Weekly (Oct 2001)
Kerry Lauerman profiles Anna Kournikova, a good but not great player who has become a superstar based on her sex appeal. So what's wrong with that? "With nary a victory and not much of a game, she's the hottest ticket at Wimbledon. And she deserves to be."
Salon (June 2000)
Salon fluff piece about 19-year-old tennis star/supermodel Anna Kournikova's deal with Berlei to promote the Shock Absorber sports bra. Billboards of Kournikova modeling the bras are plastered everywhere around Wimbledon this fortnight. . . . This catalog site has several photos of Kournikova wearing the sports bras.
Salon | Undercover Experience
ESPN career highlights for Anna Kournikova, from her professional debut at age 14 to the present. As of 2000, ESPN notes that "the glamorous Russian has played 80 WTA Tour main draw singles matches without a title."
ESPN
PENTHOUSE FAKE NUDE PICS AFFAIR
Penthouse plans to publish nude paparazzi photos of Anna Kournikova in its June issue.
The Sun (Apr 2002)
Those alleged nude Anna Kournikova paparazzi photos have already shown up on the web. Probably not her.
Voyeurporn.com (Apr 2002)
Anna Kournikova's representatives insist that's not her in the nude photos, and they plan to sue Penthouse. But a Penthouse attorney responds, "the magazine has investigated this carefully and is confident that this is indeed Miss Kournikova."
ESPN (Apr 2002)
Bizarre twist to the Penthouse-Anna Kournikova story. Another woman, Judith Soltesz-Benetton, daughter-in-law of fashion designer Luciano Benetton, now claims that's her in the topless paparazzi photos and that they were taken seven years ago in Miami. Soltesz-Benetton is suing Penthouse for $10 million for the "embarrassment" caused her. The Smoking Gun already has the lawsuit filing online. Check out the Kournikova/Soltesz-Benetton photos at this (probably temporary) page.
Yahoo | The Smoking Gun | Voyeur Porn
Frank Ramaesiri, the jewelry salesman who sold the fake Anna Kournikova topless sunbathing video to Penthouse, has an interesting explanation for the mixup.
Judd Burstein, Soltesz-Benetton's lawyer, asked Ramaesiri what had led him to the conclusion the woman was Kournikova. The salesman replied there were several reasons including that the sunbather looked Russian, appeared to be seeking privacy and because of the size of her nipples. He said that while he had never seen Kournikova at a tournament, he had seen a photo of her on the Internet in which her tennis dress was soaked with sweat, revealing the shape of her nipples. "They were pretty evident ... the diameter matched what we had on film," he said.
Sure, anyone could have made that mistake. Another article reports more testimony about the mixup.
Later, the judge studied the Penthouse pictures as the magazine's publisher, Bob Guccione, defended the likenesses of each woman's wristwatch, freckles and the "attitude of the pinkie," as in the direction they like to point their smallest fingers. Soltesz-Benetton, the daughter-in-law of fashion designer Luciano Benetton, shook her head when Ramaesiri said he believed she was Kournikova because she acted like a celebrity who wanted to be alone, she seemed Russian and she had a black leather handbag.
Another issue that hasn't come up in press coverage I've seen: Kournikova turns 21 next month. Ramaesiri admits he shot the video "several years ago." Soltesz-Benetton says it was shot seven years ago, when Kournikova would have been 13 or 14. Hmmm. The Smoking Gun reproduces court transcripts of Ramaesiri's testimony.
Yahoo | ESPN | The Smoking Gun
More bizarre testimony in the Kournikova/Penthouse hearing.
"I can look at a woman fully dressed and give you a very good idea of her breasts without the trappings of [clothes]," the 71-year-old Guccione said. "This is another thing, I'm sorry to say, I'm an expert on." The bizarre boast of super-powered boob vision piercing every woman's blouse left many in court exchanging nervous glances as Guccione defended himself.
Link snagged from Boing Boing, who snagged it from New World Disorder.
New York Post
Penthouse settled with Judith Soltesz-Benetton yesterday just before a judge was set to rule on her lawsuit.
New York Post
