Did Sports Illustrated go too far this year?
The magazine's highly-anticipated swimsuit cover features model Hannah Davis pulling down the front of her bikini bottom in what critics are calling a "pornographic pose."
The 24-year-old defended her cover on "Today" after the NBC morning show photoshopped a big, red ribbon over her bikini bottom.
"I think you’re making it look a lot naughtier than it really is, to be honest," Davis told Matt Lauer. "To be honest, I think SI always tries to do something a little different every year, and I think this year, it’s the year of the torso."
Whatever the year, some groups are urging retailers not to openly display the cover as the magazine "normalizes genital display," according to the National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
The group penned a letter to major retail chains including CVS, 7-Eleven, Walmart and Costco asking them to treat the SI mag as they would adult magazines and only partially display the cover.
"Sports Illustrated’s 2015 Swimsuit issue’s cover does not simply feature a beautiful woman in a bikini, it borders obscenity as the focus is specifically on the exposed pubic area," executive director of the NCSE Dawn Hawkins said according to the New York Post.
Despite the provocative imagery, Davis told FOX & Friends her mother "wet [her] pants" after her daughter snagged the highly-coveted cover.
"My mom, I called her, and she, if you see the video, she actually says, 'I wet my pants,'" she revealed.
Derek Jeter's girlfriend also added, "I'm personally and professionally, I'm happy and I couldn't be more excited."
The magazine's annual swimsuit issue sells 1.5 million to 2 million newsstand copies and a spokesperson for the publican told the Post they have not received complaints from retailers.
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