After unconfirmed rumors began to swirl late last year, former Danity Kane frontwoman Aubrey O’Day is now confirming that YES she posed nude for an upcoming pictorial in Playboy magazine, even managing to secure the magazine’s cover. As you may recall, Diddy very publicly kicked Aubrey out of his girlgroup DK on the season finale of Making the Band 4 last Fall, basing his decision primarily on the fact that he did not approve of Aubrey‘s image when when in the public eye (ie. he thought she was acting “too sexy” for his group). In retaliation (or possibly because she needed a paycheck), Aubrey decided to pose nekkid in Playboy:

Between talking about her high-profile split from Danity Kane and addressing the recent rumors about her sexual preferences, Aubrey O’Day has been all about displaying her personal life in a very public fashion lately. But for the singer who was “>kicked out of the group for allegedly hogging the spotlight with her over-the-top antics, those mini-dramas pale when compared with her upcoming photo spread in Playboy magazine. While spokespeople for the magazine refused to confirm the shoot when news about it first broke in late November, O’Day spoke freely with MTV News about the images. “I’ve also done the cover of Playboyfor 2009,” she said late in December. “For one of the months in 2009. I’m not gonna say it. … It’s gonna be a surprise. You know, I think that Playboy for me was one of the most liberating things that I’ve done as a woman.” Scanning the pics on her Macbook laptop while chilling in Costa Mesa, California, O’Day showed off the results of her session with photographer Markus Klinko, who has done portraits of Mariah Carey and Pamela Anderson in the past and who shot the cover of Beyoncé’s 2003 album, Dangerously In Love. “You could never imagine how empowering it is to be nude in front of cameras and have people looking at you in that way and seeing you as beautiful,” she said. “A lot of the times I think I’m seen as a bad girl and I think that’s because I’m so open.” O’Day said she only agreed to the shoot because Klinko was involved and because they both wanted something that was “classy, iconic and truly beautiful.” Taken amid sessions for her solo debut, O’Day said she was surprised at the negative repercussions from her earlier, revealing shoot for Complex magazine, which is reported to have played a role in Diddy’s decision to drop O’Day from the group. O’Day said she was merely playing a character in the pictures, in which she’s seen hugging (and, er, licking) a stripper pole while topless and modeling underwear in various stages of undress. “I mean, I think a lot of the type of way I’m portrayed in the media isn’t always the way … the way I am in my heart,” O’Day said about the negative stories about her exploits in the press. “And so I think that we were able to capture that. … I think in society we tend to put ourselves in boxes and corners and restrict ourselves, and we constantly feel the need to not say this or not wear this or do that. Taking it all off and being nude is the most natural state that you can be in,” she continued, “and being able to feel comfortable with that and show that sex can be beautiful, comfortable … is going to be empowering for people.”

Well, it’s an interesting career move, that’s for sure. Something tells me that this decision to appear nude in a men’s magazine is not really the way to win back Diddy‘s approval … she, almost assuredly, will not be returning to Danity Kane after this stunt. Honestly, tho, I think she’s OK with it. She seems pretty pleased with herself for scoring this Playboy gig so, if it makes her happy, good for her. Personally, tho, I’d prefer to see her cultivate her other talents more fully so that she may enjoy a longer, more successful career in showbiz. Aubrey managed to score a part in Broadway’s Hairspray, which seems like a career path that might actually lead to longevity. But, it looks like she’s more interested in taking off her clothes rather than stepping into new roles. I cannot hate on her for making this decision, I just really hope that it’s the right choice for her. She says that she felt empowered by posing nekkid for the cameras but I wonder if she’s mistaking empowerment for defiance against constraints that were placed on her by her former boss. I guess we’ll have to wait and see where her career takes her next, I only hope she ends up taking on a project that involves showing off her talents … while fully clothed … talk about empowerment.

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