For most people, the anniversary of the September 11 attacks in New York provides a chance to remember solemnly the almost 3,000 victims who were murdered by Islamist terrorists.
For veteran supermodel Elle Macpherson, the date gave her the chance for a grinning photo op at the Manhattan memorial.
On Monday, the 16th anniversary of the atrocity, the 53-year-old Australian shared this photograph (above) of herself posing at the site of the Twin Towers with her arm round her son, Cy Busson, 14.
With a broad smile, she stood in front of the yellow roses placed on the plaques engraved with the names of those who perished. Next to the picture posted on Instagram, she wrote: ‘9/11. Now.’
Elle posed with son Cy at the 9/11 memorial in New York, to the disappointment of some of her unimpressed fans
Not all her fans were impressed. ‘For the life of me, I will never understand why people pose in front of this memorial and take pictures and smile as if it’s just another tourist stop and not the grave of thousands,’ one commented. ‘Bizarre.’
Tourists posing for pictures at Ground Zero cause continuing anguish for grieving New Yorkers.
‘Every day, tourists with selfie sticks preen and grin by the memorial pools, inches from the engraved names of the dead,’ one local, Lawrence Levi, wrote in The New York Times recently. ‘The site’s rules of conduct prohibit “behaving in a way that is inappropriate given the solemn nature of the Memorial”. The use of selfie sticks fits that description.’
Sebastian Shakespeare says The Body would have done well to use her brain too before posting a picture of herself smiling at the memorial
At least Elle didn’t go as far as one British stag party that caused outrage last year by taking selfies with a blow-up sex doll at the site.
Cy is one of two sons Elle has with her ex-fiance, Arpad ‘Arki’ Busson, the London-based financier. They split in 2005 and she went on to marry U.S. billionaire Jeffrey Soffer in 2013. Last week, however, I reported Soffer was claiming their wedding in Fiji had never been legally valid.
Shapely Elle has always been known as ‘The Body’, but can’t she occasionally use her brain as well?
Sarkozy and wife Carla share new puppy love
Happy news for former French president Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni, who lost their beloved Chihuahua, Toumy, last summer.
The Italian-French singer and model, 49, has revealed the couple have added a two-month-old chestnut King Charles Spaniel to their menagerie — which includes dog Dumbledore and cat Kim.
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy with wife Carla Bruni at pianist Julien Clerc’s concert in Ramatuelle, France. The pair have brought home a King Charles Spaniel
King Charles Spaniel Nastasya, the latest member of Nicolas Sarkozy’s and Carla Bruni’s family
‘Welcome to Nastasya, new member of the family,’ she captioned this snap online. It follows President Emmanuel Macron’s adoption of a dog, Nemo, named after the fictional hero of Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea — one of his favourite books.
No word yet on the origins of Nastasya.
Hunk Gandy trousers a handsome £1m profit
Often described as ‘the world’s most handsome man’, David Gandy makes more money than many top female models.
The Essex company director’s son, who’s given his name to a range of Marks & Spencer underwear, raked in £1 million last year. Newly published accounts show the business into which he channels his modelling earnings, Fuimus, held £3 million, compared with £2 million in 2015.
And, unlike his popstar ex-girlfriend Mollie King, Gandy hasn’t felt the need to go on Strictly Come Dancing to boost his profile.
- There are too many Hamlets and not enough Macbeths, complains Gregory Doran, artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, who has been struggling to fill the title role in the Scottish play. ‘Macbeth is really difficult to cast because we don’t breed Macbeths,’ says Doran. ‘We seem to breed plenty of Hamlets though.’ Tom Hiddleston, Jude Law and David Tennant have recently offered star turns as the Prince of Denmark. Fortunately, Tennant’s Doctor Who predecessor Christopher Eccleston saved the day and will appear in Macbeth next year. ‘He brings the warrior brain you need for the role,’ coos Doran.