“Photo That Could Have Changed History” is actually a fake

American celebrity website left red-faced after photo showing Senator John F. Kennedy on yacht surrounded by naked women turns out to be a forgery.

TMZ.com is an American celebrity news website whose many scoops include breaking news of the deaths of Michael Jackson and Brittany Murphy. One of the world’s busiest and most successful websites, its managing editor Harvey Levin boasts that “everything is researched and vetted for accuracy.”

On December 28th, with much fanfare, TMZ published a creased black and white photograph, apparently dating from the mid-50s, which they said showed Senator John F. Kennedy sunbathing, seemingly oblivious to a quartet of naked women. Headlined “The JFK Photo That Could Have Changed History”, it claimed that had the photograph come to light at the time, it would have torpedoed JFK’s chances of becoming President and “could have altered world events”.

TMZ brought in “multiple experts”, including two Kennedy biographers, who agreed that the photo was genuine and had not been Photoshopped. “The original print – which is creased – was scanned and examined for evidence of inconsistent lighting, photo composition and other forms of manipulation. The experts all concluded the photo appears authentic.”

“The experts all concluded the photo appears authentic.”

TMZ maintained that the photo was probably taken during a 2-week Mediterranean cruise JFK took in August 1956 with his brother Ted and Senator George Smathers. “The trio reportedly entertained a number of women on the yacht. Jackie Kennedy was pregnant at the time and was rushed to the hospital while JFK was on the boat. Doctors performed an emergency C-section, but the infant was stillborn.” 

The photograph, said TMZ, ended in the hands of a car dealer who kept it in a drawer, boasting about it to his friends. When the man died 10 years ago, his son inherited it.

Unfortunately for TMZ, the whole thing is utter baloney. Somebody with an encyclopedic knowledge of Playboy Magazine noticed a marked resemblance to a Playboy spread which dated from 1967, not 1956, was in colour, not black and white, and was shot in the Grenadines, not the Meditteranean. It ran under the title: “Charter Yacht Party: How to Have a Ball on the Briny with an Able-Bodied Complement of Ship’s Belles.” TMZ’s admission of the hoax is a little quieter than its earlier exclusive.

Had TMZ targeted a living politician, sportsman, pop star or film star in a similar manner, who knows what damage could have been done before somebody spotted that their “experts” were talking through their respective hats?

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