Paris Jackson and Charli XCX’s nipples empower women – so why the backlash?
Is the trend empowering or 'pathetic'?
Paris Jackson and Charli XCX are the latest stars to free the nipple, with both women receiving backlash for the risque looks.
Jackson, who wore a revealing off-the-shoulder look from Stella McCartney’s spring 2025 collection during Paris Fashion Week, hit back at critics in a series of videos on social media.
In one, the daughter of late singer Michael Jackson said: ‘I don’t really understand why the human body is a driving force for discomfort in so many people. Like, i’s just a body. It’s just a body on a human which is an animal. We look at other naked animals all the time.’
For her part, Charli XCX also rolled her eyes at anyone who clutched their pearls at her sheer Brit awards dress, which reportedly prompted hundreds of complaints to media watchdog Ofcom.
During one of her acceptance speeches, she said wryly: ‘I heard that ITV were complaining about my nipples. I feel like we’re in the era of ree the nipple though, right?’
While this may seem inconsequential to some – sheer looks have become more common in recent years – the backlash online has made it clear that many people still aren’t comfortable with the evolution of modesty standards.
Charli XCX commented on the backlash about her dress while accepting one of her Brit awards (Picture: Samir Hussein/WireImage)The pair join a long list of stars who have ditched bras in the past including Doja Cat, Kendall Jenner, Dua Lipa, Rihanna, and Miley Cyrus – all of whom have faced criticism for the bold choice.
In a world where a woman’s body and clothing choices are often the subject of sexist scrutiny, the decision to expose a lot of skin carries inevitable political implications.
There were plenty of people making their opinions about the dresses more than clear on social media.
Paris Jackson hit back at critics of her sheer look on social media (Picture: Dave Benett/Getty Images for Stella McCartney)User @tabxssum wrote: ‘I’m sorry I just find sheer dresses like these where you can see the boobs/everything but the nipple is so unprofessional/tacky. It also looks so cheap.’
@DutchDidNothingWrong agreed, commenting: ‘Getting sick of famous people doing acts of exhibitionism at formal events.’
User @Perfect_Restaurant_4 put it plainly, writing: ‘Too much nips. I’d be so embarrassed to talk to her with all her boobs right there. Topless on a beach/around the pool fine, but not boobs out at a formal occasion.’
Model Bella Hadid has also gone for sheer looks in the past (Credits: Anthony Harvey/Shutterstock)Others argued that baring it all makes stars seem desperate. @Felonious_Minx wrote: ‘I have the reflex to dislike “naked” type clothing right off the bat now because it is so common and screams desperation for attention.’
Charli and Paris aren’t the only celebrities to have faced negative feedback for freeing the nipple recently.
Olivia Wilde, for example, attended a fashion show last year in a sheer look and was subsequently the subject of much online debate.
Some fans had problems with Wilde’s designer look (Picture: Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)The Booksmart director, 39, who wore a cut-out bodysuit with a smart cargo skirt, leather opera gloves, a choker, tinted aviator sunglasses and a statement belt, was targeted with comments on social media that ranged from critical to downright dehumanising.
In a 2021 interview with Vogue, Wilde was asked about a viral photo that she took while breastfeeding and whether she supports ‘freeing the nipple.’
Wilde responded: ‘Absolutely. It’s culturally specific because obviously in other countries there’s less of a fear of the nipple. I think that we can all really benefit from making sure that we don’t allow the stigmatisation of women’s bodies to infect our own perspective of ourself.’
Zoe Kravitzditched a bra at a recent Saint Laurent show (Picture: Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)She went on to call out society’s ‘puritanical perspective’ on women’s nipples, reflecting on how breastfeeding changed her relationship with her breasts.
She said: ‘If we are allowed opportunities to celebrate our body, it has an effect. It has an effect on how we treat one another and how we treat ourselves. I wish that in this country, we weren’t so terrified of women’s bodies in the way that we are and have this kind of puritanical perspective on nipples.’
She continued in the Vogue interview, saying: ‘I think it’s really silly. I’m someone who breastfed two kids and it’s funny [because] honestly, when you’re breastfeeding, you have a different relationship to your breasts and sort of the rest of the world.
Emily Ratajkowski has also made headlines for baring it all on the red carpet (Picture: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)‘And it’s really hilarious to kind of navigate this society’s fear of women’s bodies, even though without them, we honestly wouldn’t be here.’
What is the Free The Nipple movement?Advocates for the #FreeTheNipple movement (a movement that began in 2012 in the lead-up to a film by the same name by filmmaker Lina Esco) argue that destigmatising and normalising non-cis-male breasts is a step towards an equal society in which men and women have the same amount of autonomy over their bodies and sexualities.
The movement (and its hashtag) was made famous by model Cara Delevingne in 2015 when she posted an Instagram photo of her own breast, censored, alongside an exposed male breast. The photo went viral, sparking discussion about the double standards applied to male and female bodies online.
The movement’s efforts paid off recently as Instagram and Facebook have announced that they may finally end their ban on the female nipple.
Meta, the parent company of both platforms, admitted: ‘The restrictions and exceptions to the rules on female nipples are extensive and confusing, particularly as they apply to transgender and non-binary people.’
It’s obvious that our culture has come a long way from the frenzied panic surrounding the infamous Janet Jackson nip slip during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show (fittingly known as #NippleGate).
But, while it’s unlikely that the incident would cause the same stir today, reactions to non-male celebrities exposing their chests remain almost as bizarrely puritanical as they were in the early noughties.
The infamous ‘nipple gate’ occurred during Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake’s Super Bowl performance in 2004 (Picture: Getty)Florence Pugh chimed in on the free the nipple movement after she was cyberbullied and criticised for a sheer Valentino dress she wore in 2022.
When asked about the backlash by Vogue, Pugh questioned why a woman’s body simply existing causes such a stir.
‘I’ve never been scared of what’s underneath the fabric,’ Pugh said. ‘If I’m happy in it, then I’m gonna wear it.
Protestors in Germany fight for their right to go topless(Pictures: REUTERS)‘Of course, I don’t want to offend people, but I think my point is: How can my nipples offend you that much?’
When asked if she’d continue freeing the nipple, she spoke out about how making a woman’s body taboo contributes to rape culture, saying: ‘It’s very important that we do this.
I know that some people might scoff at me saying that, but if a dress with my breasts peeking through is encouraging people to say, “Well, if you were to get raped, you would deserve it,” it just shows me that there’s so much more work to do.’
Is Bianca Censori’s see-through Grammy’s dress also empowering?To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
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Previous Page Next PageBianca Censori and Kanye West recently made headlines around the world for the nude dress Bianca wore to the 2025 Grammys.
Once on the red carpet at the event, the 30-year-old dropped her fluffy black coat at her husband’s encouragement and revealed her totally nude body in a completely sheer mini dress to the hundreds of flashing cameras.
While the moment may not seem much different from any of the other fashion moments already mentioned, there are key differences.
This isn’t the first time Bianca has worn next-to-nothing while out and about with a fully clothed Ye.
Given these recurring scenes, many have accused Ye of being ‘abusive’ towards Bianca, suggesting he is coercing her into wearing no clothes in a twisted humiliation ritual.
There have been persistent rumours about West and Censori’s relationship status since the Grammys stunt (Picture: FilmMagic)X user vitt2tsnoc wrote on the subject: ‘He’s stripped his wife of all clothes and self respect, she’s nothing but a puppet, meanwhile he’s of course, ALWAYS fully clothed. This isn’t “art” – it’s abuse. At what point is enough enough?’
Censori, who rarely speaks in public and has never once released any kind of statement about her fashion choices, looks anything but empowered as she poses on the red carpet, baring it all. In fact, she looks uncomfortable and even frightened.
Kanye himself boasted about his ‘dominion’ over his wife, writing amid a sexist, homophobic, and antisemitic rant online: ‘I HAVE DOMINION OVER MY WIFE THIS AINT NO WOKE AS FEMINIST S**T SHES WITH A BILLIONAIRE WHY WOULD SHE LISTEN TO ANY OF YOU DUMB A** BROKE B*****S.
‘PEOPLE SAY THE RED CARPET LOOK WAS HER DECISION YES I DONT MAKE HER DO NOTHING SHE DOESNT WANT TO BUT SHE DEFINITELY WOULDNT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO IT WITHOUT MY APPROVAL YOU STUPID A** WOKE PAWNS.
‘I HAVE NO RESPECT OR EMPATHY FOR ANY ONE LIVING CAUSE NO ONE LIVING CAN F**K WITH ME BUT I DO LOVE SOME PEOPLE AND I GIVE THEM FAVOR. [sic]’
Simply put, the difference in whether a woman baring skin is empowering or humiliating comes down to her own autonomy over the decision.
Why is freeing the nipple important?Despite the ongoing cultural conversation about the absurdity of the double standards placed on the way women dress, many people still have not learned their lesson.
Social media users across platforms implied that Paris Jackson, Charli XCX, and other celebritieis who have worn similar sheer outfits have a lack of self-respect.
Florence Pugh has defended her choice to frequently wear nipple-freeing looks (Picture: Getty)Perhaps even more troublingly, one X user commented on the ‘order’ in which he’d take home a group of famous women pictured in an article about nipple-baring looks (including Wilde in the Saint Laurent outfit) for a ‘one night shag’.
It’s this kind of uninvited sexualisation of a woman’s body – which is never inherently sexual no matter how much of it is exposed – that Pugh was speaking out against.
For stars passionate about gender equality in Hollywood, this backlash is a big part of why continuing to dress however one sees fit is so important. If a man can wear what he wants without fear of cruelty or denigration, a woman should be able to as well.
Jackson clearly felt confident in her sheer dress (Picture: Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)As long as sexist criticism about women’s bodies and style choices persists, culture-shifting stars like Charli XCX, Paris Jackson, and Florence Pugh are going to continue to free the nipple as an act of rebellion.
While that means they will likely continue to face critcism, wearing these norm-breaking outfits helps to normalise the female body as something that isn’t taboo, shameful, or inherently sexual. And that’s something that benefits all women.
A version of this article was first published on May 21, 2024.
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