13 May 2025

Nudity in the eyes of the law

From Nights, 8:30 pm on 13 May 2025

The Cannes Film Festival says it will no longer tolerate nudity on its red carpet, for what it calls "decency reasons".

But what about closer to home? Turns out being nude in public is, contrary to what you might assume, NOT illegal in New Zealand. Not by itself, anyway.

Human rights lawyer, Michael Bott, has successfully defended several public nudity cases. He joins Emile Donovan to talk about what constitutes offensive behaviour and how it can be a pretty fluid definition.

World Naked Bike Ride in France, July 2022

World Naked Bike Ride in France, July 2022 Photo: AFP