Michael Cohen, a US lawyer who has become well known for acting as the personal counsel of President Donald Trump, has drawn criticism on Twitter after posting a photo of his daughter posing in a bra and black stockings.
“So proud of my Ivy League daughter,” Cohen wrote in the post, linking to his daughter’s Instagram account. “Brains and beauty, channelling her Edie Sedgwick.”
So proud of my Ivy League daughter...brains and beauty channeling her Edie Sedgwick. On Instagram @samichka_ pic.twitter.com/mpQxhr3mh3
— Michael Cohen (@MichaelCohen212) May 15, 2017
In the photo, 21-year-old Samantha Cohen recreates an image of the famed Andy Warhol muse Edie Sedgwick, a model and actress who was part of the pop artist’s inner circle.
Within minutes of tweeting the photo, the New York lawyer found himself inundated with responses, many of which were branding him “Mr Creepypants.”
“Most fathers don’t post lingerie shots of their daughters,” one critic wrote, adding: “I guess #Trump must be rubbing off on you.”
But an angry Cohen did not back down, furiously responding: “Beauty and brains you a-hole! It’s a modelling shot remake from an old Edie Sedgwick photo. #hater.”
@bonibrat Jealous?
— Michael Cohen (@MichaelCohen212) May 15, 2017
The lawyer’s daughter, who studies at the prestigious University of Pennsylvania, rose to his defence, telling The Daily Mail that there was nothing “inappropriate” in the picture.
“I find it hypocritical that those who consider themselves liberal would criticise a woman embracing her body,” she said. “There is nothing sexualised about the photograph... it is tasteful and it is demure.”
On her Instagram account, Samatha Cohen has posted several images of herself in swimwear, including one in which she poses beside her father with the caption “Daddy’s girl.”
Reacting to the controversy, Cohen took shots at the media for blowing the tweet out of proportion, revealing that she had posted the photo after finishing a “rough semester.”
“My father does not think I’m ‘hot’ and him posting a professional photo taken of me in a bra and pants does not mean he sexualises me,” she said.
“I understand we live in such a politically charged time but I think we need to step back for a moment and think, are we fighting the opposing team just because they’re the other team?”
