“I Have Nothing to Hide”: Arnold Schwarzenegger Boldly Denied Embarrassment Claims After His Controversial Shoot Got Viral Once

As a bodybuilding legend, Arnold Schwarzenegger has won several titles, along with seven Mr. Olympia victories. He has worked as an actor, politician, businessman, and model. In his five decades in the public eye, he has amassed a big fan following and also received criticism for his work.

But his headstrong personality doesn’t let him shy away from public disapproval. He has made public apologies for his behavior where he deemed himself in the wrong. And he has unapologetically owned up to projects he believed in.

Arnold Schwarzenegger had a controversial photoshoot

In 1992, Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and talked about his unclothed pictorial published in Spy Magazine in March that year. Reportedly, the magazine received an unsolicited print of the picture while pursuing a story about press manipulation involving the bodybuilder.

The picture was taken in the 1970s in a studio. But this exposure did not rattle Schwarzenegger, as he told Winfrey. “There’s no reason for it because there’s nothing in there—the nude photograph,” he stated. “Why would I get upset about the nude photograph that I posed for an artist for, for a sculpture? I’m not embarrassed.” 

Jokingly, he added, “I have nothing to hide.” The action film star also relayed his perspective on receiving negative coverage from the press. He claimed that he doesn’t involve himself with the things written about him and tends to forget such incidents easily. Over the years, Schwarzenegger has also maintained his opinions on exposure on-camera.

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Schwarzenegger’s views on nudity on screen

As a rule, bodybuilders are only allowed to wear a pair of trunks in competition, with all other forms of ornamentations like shoes, watches, pendants, etc. banned. Debuting as a pro-bodybuilder in 1968, all the way to his last competition in 1980, perhaps influenced Schwarzenegger’s perspective on the matter.

In 2013, bodybuilding legend Arnold Schwarzenegger admitted he found nude scenes embarrassing. For his fifth installment in the Terminator franchise, the film star had to strip off on set. But despite his worries, he enjoys doing risque scenes on camera. He stated, “[Nude scenes] are embarrassing, but fun.” 

“It leads to funny conversations and funny dialogue and great humor and everything like that,” continued. For the integrity of the movie, Schwarzenegger doesn’t mind a little exposure to his audiences. “It’s inevitable. You have to do it because it’s what the movie shows, and there are certain times you can cover things up, and there are certain times you don’t and you can’t.” 

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He also reiterated the sentiment from his 1992 interview, saying, “So what? I don’t think there’s anyone here that has anything to hide.”