Chelsea Handler Slams Instagram for Removing Her Topless Photo

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What started out as a funny joke is now turning into a mudslinging war of words.

Chelsea Handler spoofed an iconic photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin posing shirtless on top of a horse by Instagramming a picture of herself topless on a horse along with the caption: "Taking this down is sexist. I have every right to prove I have a better body than Putin."

PHOTO: Chelsea Handler Poses Nude Like a 'Kardashian'

Instagram

Instagram did take the photo down, as per their guidelines, prompting this response from Handler: "If a man posts a photo of his nipples, it's ok, but not a woman? Are we in 1825?"

After her first photo was removed, Handler reposted the pic again only for Instagram to remove it again.

"We removed your post because it doesn't follow our Community Guidelines," Instagram posted to Chelsea's page. "Please read our Community Guidelines to learn what kinds of posts are allowed and how you can help keep Instagram safe."

Handler once again posted the pic, writing, "If Instagram takes this down again, you're saying Vladimir Putin has more 1st amendment rights than me. Talk to your bosses."

Instagram removed the photo again, prompting Chelsea to announce she is leaving Instagram for Twitter.

NEWS: Why Chelsea Handler Likes Being Nude on Camera

"You can now find my dogs and my breasts on Twitter only where my followers have the right to choose what they say. Bye bye instablock," she wrote in her final post.

The 39-year-old comedienne posed nearly nude in an Instagram post earlier this year, but kept herself mostly covered. In the photo she was pictured sitting in a locker room wearing only a nude thong.

"I'm a Kardashian," Handler wrote, captioning the pic. This pic remains on Instagram.

I'm a Kardashian'

Une photo publiée par Chelsea Handler (@chelseahandler) le

This is the second topless photo this month Handler has posted. On Oct. 6, she tweeted a pic of her flashing one of her breasts while posing with her fully-clothed friends. This pic did not make it onto Instagram.

Handler, 39, has a penchant for appearing nude on camera - shooting naked sketches with Sandra Bullock, Ellen DeGeneres and Conan O'Brien. "I like to be naked because I don't take my body seriously," Handler told DeGeneres earlier this month. "People do, and that's nice for them, but I think bodies are so silly."

PHOTOS: Stars In Their Underwear

The former Chelsea Lately host joked that, in a business that is so vain, she also likes to flaunt the best thing she thinks she's got going for her physically: her breasts. "I like to take them out whenever I can, and be like, 'Hey look! Pretend this is my whole face!'" she quipped to DeGeneres, laughing.

Handler isn't the first to speak out about Instagram's policy of women not being permitted to post topless photos. Rihanna got rid of her account with the photo-sharing site when they removed her scantily-clad photos, and Bruce Willis and Demi Moore's daughter Scout Willis went topless in the streets of New York City in protest of Instagram's rule.


Whose side are you on? Should Instagram allow topless photos of women?