Why Sailor Brinkley Cook Didn't Tell Mom Christie Brinkley She Posed Nude for 'Sports Illustrated' (Exclusive)

The 19-year-old model proudly stripped down for the magazine's new section.

Sailor Brinkley Cook is doing things her way. 

The 19-year-old model posed nude for Sports Illustrated's new section, In Her Own Words -- but didn't look to her mom, Christie Brinkley, for any advice!

"I didn't tell her until after, because this was the type of shoot that I didn't want any comments on," Brinkley Cook told ET in New York City on Wednesday. "So I took the photos, and we did the shoot, and then I sent them to my mom." 

"She didn't even ask, 'What is it for?' or anything. She was like, 'Oh my god. You're art. These are beautiful,'" she revealed. 

Brinkley Cook posed completely naked for the photo shoot, with words like "artist," "optimist" and "natural" written across her body -- and said working with an all-female crew helped her feel comfortable in her own skin. 

"It was a very intimate shoot," Sports Illustrated Editor MJ Day explained. "Their bodies are a blank canvas for this project, and we wanted to make sure there was a level of comfort and safety." 

"It was such an energetic crew that was so committed to creating this message and these powerful images that I feel like a lot of young girls can relate to, and a lot of young girls can look up to," Brinkley Cook shared. "[I loved] being able to say, 'OK, this is who I am, this is what I look like, this is what I want to give to the world. I am OK with that and you should be too.'"

As for those who might confuse the empowering shoot with objectification, the model is happy to set the record straight. 

"There's such a disgusting connection between a woman being naked and being objectified. Those are not synonyms," she declared. "I'm doing it because of me. I love feeling sexy and being in a bikini and doing these poses...You can have your boobs out and have cleavage and be wearing a tiny swimsuit... and be just as respected and just as intellectual and just as knowledgeable [as] a woman fully covered."  

See more on Brinkley Cook in the video below. 

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