Boudoir photos shoot man to internet fame, until Facebook pulls them
'I thought she was gonna laugh until she cried ... but she just loved it'
He'll never be mistaken for Fabio, but Victoria man Brendon Williams became an internet sensation thanks to some sexy boudoir snaps that made their way onto Facebook.
Too bad Facebook found his photos less "titillating" and more "terms-of-service-violating." His photos were removed from the social media site after amassing over 7 million views.
While boudoir photos usually feature female subjects, Williams decided to flip the script and commissioned the photos as a birthday present for his wife.
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"I've always liked to push the envelope and my wife knows that," he told All Points West host Robyn Burns.
"I started off wearing my full actual suit — not my birthday suit — and then quickly into my underpants and just did whatever the photographer told me to do. Whatever she thought was gonna be entertaining."
"I thought she was gonna laugh until she cried ... but she just loved it. She truly loved it. I was almost touched that she liked it that much rather than found it to be a hilarious joke or something like that."
He had the photos made into a book and allowed the photographer, Masika May, to post the photos to her company Facebook page, where they drew an unexpectedly large reaction.
"I'm kinda surprised how positive the comments were overall, because when I look at myself in my tighty whities, I have some choice words at times. So it was nice to see how positive the reaction was," he said.
But after the photos reached 7 million views, someone reported them for nudity — which Williams described as "a bummer."
"There was a photo where I'm in the bathtub and I'm fully covered up, but I guess someone was pretty uncomfortable with what they saw and had to report it to Facebook," he said.
The photos were re-posted with some cropping.
And while Williams was upset that the photos had their view counts reset, he says he had a lot of fun doing the photo shoot with a family friend who also shot his wedding.
Williams says he hasn't settled on what his wife's birthday present will be next year.
To hear the full story, click the audio labelled: Too hot for Facebook! Man's boudoir photos make him internet famous... briefly