INSIDE EDITION spoke to the original Coppertone girl who is defending the mom that was temporarily banned from Facebook over photos of her young daughter that paid homage to the company’s famous ad.
Cheri Irwin once had the most famous derriere in America- She was the original Coppertone baby!
Today she turned 59 and came to the defense of the mom who just caused a stir for reenacting that now iconic Coppertone ad.
"I think it's innocent and we need to relax," said Irwin.
Over the July 4th weekend, Jill White, a professional photographer from Hickory, North Carolina, took a photo at the beach of her daughter Willa and Willa's best friend. One little girl's bathing suit was pulled down, exposing her bare bottom, just like the Coppertone ad from 1953.
"She captured an innocent moment," said Irwin. "The girls looked beautiful."
But Facebook didn't agree. It banned White from the site for 24 hours, saying the image "fit the criteria of nudity or pornography."
"It is very ridiculous," said White. "I don't see anything wrong with it."
"I was like really? What, you know?" said Irwin. "I think there are things on Facebook that are far more offensive than that."
White ended up reposting her photo, but put a smiley face over the bottom of the exposed little girl. As for Irwin, today she lives in Florida and works as a sale manager. She was happy that all these years later, her classic ad still created headlines.
"Im honored that America has embraced it," said Irwin. "It's very special to me."
