MAINZ, Germany — While Americans may be saying goodbye to Playboy's nude centerfolds, readers in Germany have been reassured the magazine's risqué content is going nowhere.
"To be clear immediately, the Americans' decision has no bearing on the direction and the design of the German Playboy," Florian Boitin, editor-in-chief of the Munich-based edition of the magazine, said in a statement.
Germany's Bild tabloid newspaper wasted no time in engaging in some schadenfreude, or malicious joy, running the headline on Wednesday: "Take that, Americans — our Playboy stays naked," alongside a full page of semi-naked models.
Germany is arguably more liberal than other Western countries when it comes to nudity, and nude bathing is still very popular.
The German version of Playboy, one of more than 20 editions of the magazine around world, has been on newsstands since 1972, some 19 years after the release of the American counterpart.
"Playboy stands for witty, courageous and award-winning journalism," the German Playboy statement said. "And it is also a fact that Playboy made the sophisticated erotic photography socially acceptable."
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Playboy announced this week it would cease its trademark feature of naked women in its U.S. print edition.
Playboy Chief Executive Scott Flanders told the New York Times on Monday that because people were now "one click away from every sex act imaginable for free" this content was "passe at this juncture."
Like its U.S. counterpart, the magazine's German edition has experienced declining sales figures.
