CNN Supports Thompson, Accepts Nude Pics

April 30, 2001 -- CNN is defending its decision to hire NYPD Blue alum Andrea Thompson as a news anchor, despite numerous nude photos of the actress-reporter splashed across the Web.

Thompson, who played a detective on ABC's Blue until 1999, spent the last year covering the news beat for an Albuquerque, N.M., television station. In a moment reminiscent of a smear campaign from political drama The Contender, various nude photos of Thompson began surfacing on the Internet just as CNN announced its decision to hire her.

The scuttlebutt made the cover of the New York Post on Friday; her photo was positioned next to a story with the cheeky title "Headlined Nudes."

Thompson defended her past decisions to disrobe. "I did pose for Black and White magazine, a prestigious, artistic publication, several years ago," she told The Associated Press. "I did this as a piece of art and make no apologies for the creative decisions I've made as an artist in my 20-year career."

Some of the photos were apparently stills of Thompson taken from a 1986 Italian film, Manhattan Gigolo, as well as other images from her Black and White shoot.

CNN has issued a statement supporting Thompson, which reads simply, "We accept Andrea Thompson's explanation regarding the photos in question."