Who is Lily Cook? Irate sunbather exposes 'pervs' who shared her topless pics without her consent
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: Lily Cook, a personal fitness trainer, revealed on Instagram a disastrous experience she went through as she was secretly photographed topless at a Sydney beach on November 12. However, the picture got leaked and started spreading to other phones. Though she reached out to the police, they said they couldn't do anything.
She wrote on her Instagram feed, "In 2022 the capture and distribution of explicit images of a woman without her knowledge or consent is both abhorrent and illegal. I am standing up to this issue. Here is my story"
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Lily wrote, "This recently happened to me and it has had a profoundly detrimental effect upon my mental health. Despite this being a moment in my life that will haunt me forever, it has opened the door to a conversation, one that is long overdue. I am choosing to share my story after too many women, and most of my friends, have confided in me that they have suffered similar experiences."
Further, she stated, "On Saturday the 12th of November, I went to the beach with my sister. I noticed 3 males there, 2 of which I know socially. Wel follow one another on social media and have many mutual friends. Soon after, their girlfriends joined them. I always tan topless but I didn't feel comfortable due to my preconceived opinions of them. After delaying almost an hour to remove my top, it seemed they were preparing to leave so I finally removed it."
Meanwhile, she explained, "That night I received a message asking if I had been topless at the beach that day, followed by a close-up photo of me topless at the beach. The person who sent me the photo confirmed who sent him the photo - which was not one of the males at the beach. This is when I realised a photo had been taken of me without my consent and had further been distributed."
She then explained, "The next morning, I messaged the two men and their girlfriends, who were at the beach, in a group message. I asked them to delete the photo and to stop sharing it. None of the men replied to the group message, and only one of their girlfriends replied, explaining that there has been a misunderstanding and that the photo was a wider "landscape photo" posted as an Instagram story of the beach by one of their friends that were with them that day. The males obfuscated and tried to dodge responsibility by claiming the photo was cut from a bigger Instagram story and therefore, not a gross violation of my privacy."
Further, she stated, "This was later confirmed to be a lie. In the photo from the Instagram story my sister and I are BOTH lying down. In the photo I received on Saturday night that was distributed to others, my sister is sitting upright. Due to the quality of the image and the angle, it was clear one of the males had snuck closer to me to get a close-up photo of me topless."
Later she claimed, "The person who distributed the photo to the male that had sent it to me, after receiving the different images from my brother - he finally confessed that he had taken the photo off the other male's phone and distributed it to two additional friends. He has since refused to make a statement. Even though he admitted this to us, he has now refused to admit distribution to the police. The male whom took the close-up photo claims to not be involved in the intentional taking or further distribution of this photo, despite his friend whom sent me the photo on Saturday night claiming it were in a group chat."
Meanwhile, she stated, "These men (and I use that word generously) chose to create and corroborate in further lies, embellish stories and gaslight me rather than apologising and admitting this stark and obvious truth. I can't help but think of how different this whole process would be if they had the strength and dignity to own their actions and how it can impact a woman." Later, she explained, "Not only is this behaviour disappointing, it's disgusting perverted and juvenile. Despite confessing, he (nor anyone else involved) has apologized. What has f***ed with me the most is that had we not caught them out in their web of insidious lies, they would have ALL happily let me own that it was my mistake and that I was the one who had perhaps taken this situation out of context. And that they would have let me own that socially and publicly for the rest of my life. You do not care about me or my feelings."
The brave woman concluded her post by saying, "I am sharing my experience because I know there are women and girls out there who have experienced this same violation and like me, feel overwhelmed by hurt and the burden of societal stigma. I want them to know we share a bond and can draw on each other for strength. I don't want the conversation to end with these tiles and for the sake of our future as women and girls in this country, it can't. So, whilst my emotions may fade, and my anger and sadness reduce as I move on with my life. I will never, ever let you forget what you did. Sorry boys, it's now your time."
Who is Lily Cook?
According to her Instagram profile, she is owns her own personal fitness brand which is called lilycook.pt. On the other hand, she also collaborates with LVL1 fitness programme for various initiatives. She is also married to Guy Allen who owns a fitness company called Allen Built. Lily is a pet mother to her dog, Showie and owns an Instagram page called, 'Its showies world.'
'Always proud of you Lily'
The Internet quickly reacted to her post and praised her for bravery. A user said, 🙌 always proud of you Lily. 🙌 BOYS ... do better, " I'm a Mr too, your giving Mr a bad name, Mr like you" b harper." Another added, "Wow Lil, what an awful awful experience. We back you all the way, thank you for speaking up. The lying and making you feel like you were out of context/ potentially ‘overreacting’ is so disgusting, and such a big part of the problem. So brave of you to speak your truth and share because it’s bloody hard to honour your own feelings when they get so disrespected. But I’m so glad you did. This should never have happened and it’s not ok. Love you ❤️."
A user claimed, "THANK YOU for speaking out! Sad that in 2022 people are still doing this, let women be in peace." "Thank you for sharing and making it public. People need to understand the real stories and how their actions affect women and it is never ok to do this to someone. Proud of you for standing up for us who have experienced similar situations, love you beautiful 🖤xx," wrote another. Meanwhile, a follower stated, "You are so strong lil! Completely disgusting and inexcusable behaviour. People need to grow the fuck up and learn some respect ♥️." "So proud of you Lil!!!!!!! Those boys have mothers, grandmothers, girlfriends, sisters… imagine how they would feel on the other end. Disgusting," claimed a user.