# Debbie Gibson posing in Playboy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 25, 2005, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debbie-gibson-posing-in-playboy/286646 "2005-01-25T21:46:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Scoundrel\_Swanswater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@Scoundrel\_Swanswater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scoundrel_Swanswater)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debbie-gibson-posing-in-playboy/286646/21 "2005-01-26T11:01:01Z")
What ??? Charisma Carpenter was in Playboy? Now that I need to see. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debbie-gibson-posing-in-playboy/286646/22 "2005-01-26T14:06:50Z")
> [@vinryk](#): > > What ??? Charisma Carpenter was in Playboy? > Now that I need to see. Yes, it was some time last year. I just can’t remember which issue. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debbie-gibson-posing-in-playboy/286646/23 "2005-01-26T14:25:58Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > The quality of Playboy has suffered much in the last decade or so, but it’s hardly a trashy publication like _Maxim_ or _FHM_. Bite your tongue, you heathen! ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debbie-gibson-posing-in-playboy/286646/24 "2005-01-26T14:28:44Z")
> [@vinryk](#): > > What ??? Charisma Carpenter was in Playboy? > Now that I need to see. June 2004. And yes, you do need to see it. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debbie-gibson-posing-in-playboy/286646/25 "2005-01-26T15:08:27Z")
> [@vinryk](#): > > What ??? Charisma Carpenter was in Playboy? > Now that I need to see. Google “Charisma Carpenter implants” and click on the first link. Nice shape but has a fairly obvious set of jutting implants. Not a bad implant job though. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debbie-gibson-posing-in-playboy/286646/26 "2005-01-26T15:21:25Z")
It seems to me that in recent years, a lot of celebrities who are either on their way out, almost on their way out, or have been out for a while are posing. Examples include: Carnie Wilson Brooke Burke Tia Carrera Charisma Carpenter Denise Richards Debbie Gibson There are probably many others. On the other hand…now that I think about it, this probably isn’t a new trend. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debbie-gibson-posing-in-playboy/286646/27 "2005-01-26T15:40:43Z")
Aw c’mon . . . isn’t it every man’s fantasy to make love to a woman while she’s singing _You Light Up My Life_? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debbie-gibson-posing-in-playboy/286646/28 "2005-01-27T00:53:27Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Aw c’mon . . . isn’t it every man’s fantasy to make love to a woman while she’s singing _You Light Up My Life_? Debbie _ **Boone** _ is going to be in Playboy? :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek: ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debbie-gibson-posing-in-playboy/286646/29 "2005-01-27T02:23:26Z")
> [@andygirl](#): > > I dunno, I thought Charisma Carpenter was stunning. That one was an _unusual_ result. Heck, it was an unusual issue with all 3 pictorials being really, really worth the money. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debbie-gibson-posing-in-playboy/286646/30 "2005-01-27T04:23:17Z")
It just confirms what I’ve been saying for years: Playboy is now what “Match Game” and “Love Boat” and “Hollywood Squares” used to be! A place for celebrities to collect a paycheck decades after the world has stopped caring about them. Every guy I knew in high school back in the Seventies wanted to see Farrah naked, but she turned down Playboy repeatedly. Now that practically NOBODY wants to see her naked, she’s dropping her clothes at the drop of a hat! Look, if Debbie has always dreamed of posing nude, well, far be it from me to deny her her fantasy. And if she’s absolutely broke and needs the money, let her cash in. But if she thinks this is a good career move… well, she’s kidding herself. Really, when’s the last time posing for Playboy was a good career move? How many records has Tiffany sold since she posed? How many leading roles in movies has Farrah gfotten since she started popping up nude in Playboy? Even Hugh Hefner can’t help you once you’re a has-been. But if trends continue… figure Ashlee Simpson and the Olsen twins will show up in Playboy around the year 2028. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debbie-gibson-posing-in-playboy/286646/31 "2005-01-27T04:37:38Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Look, if Debbie has always dreamed of posing nude, well, far be it from me to deny her her fantasy. And if she’s absolutely broke and needs the money, let her cash in. I agree. If Debbie wants to show me her goodies, the least I can do is buy the magazine. 😃 > [@](#): > > But if she thinks this is a good career move… well, she’s kidding herself. Really, when’s the last time posing for Playboy was a good career move? True. Sorry, Deborah, but you had your day in the sun. You are a talented woman and I sincerely hope you handled your money well. > [@](#): > > But if trends continue… figure Ashlee Simpson and the Olsen twins will show up in Playboy around the year 2028. The way things are going for Ashlee, she’d better call Hef while he’s still breathing. She’s not long for the entertainment world. While I like thin women, the Olsens need to eat a sandwich or two before dropping their drawers. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debbie-gibson-posing-in-playboy/286646/32 "2005-01-27T05:18:31Z")
On the one hand, it’s sad that her carreer has fallen to the point where she’s posing in Playboy. On the other…Well, 16 years of fantasy finally fulfilled! ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debbie-gibson-posing-in-playboy/286646/33 "2005-01-27T05:58:20Z")
> [@](#): > > How many leading roles in movies has Farrah gfotten since she started popping up nude in Playboy? About the same number as she had in the nine years prior to her Playboy appearance nine years ago. (No leads that I remember, but about the same number of character parts.) It does not seem to have made her career take off at age 48, but it does not appear to have hurt her, either. (Has she “popped up” in Playboy since her first appearance?) ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debbie-gibson-posing-in-playboy/286646/34 "2005-01-27T07:10:55Z")
astorian: > [@](#): > > Really, when’s the last time posing for Playboy was a good career move? I don’t know…ask Pam Anderson, Anna Nicole Smith or Jenny McCarthy. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debbie-gibson-posing-in-playboy/286646/35 "2005-01-27T07:41:27Z")
Charlize Theron timed her “Playboy” pictorial perfectly – several years before her breakout role, so that by the time she was accepting all of those awards, showing off her boobies was ancient history. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debbie-gibson-posing-in-playboy/286646/36 "2005-01-27T14:07:32Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > About the same number as she had in the nine years prior to her Playboy appearance nine years ago. (No leads that I remember, but about the same number of character parts.) It does not seem to have made her career take off at age 48, but it does not appear to have hurt her, either. (Has she “popped up” in Playboy since her first appearance?) Umm… Tom? You pretty much just confirmed what I said. I didn’t claim that posing in Playboy killed Farrah’s career (it was dead already- Hugh Hefner had nothing to do with that)! I simply pointed out that posing nude didn’t do a damn thing to revitalize her career- and that’s obviously what Farrah (like Tiffany, Nancy Sinatra and Debbie… er, Deborah” Gibson) was hoping for. Is there EVER any value to posing in Playboy? Not often, but if you’re a young, attractive, unknown would-be actress, currently working at IHOP, well, any exposure is better than none. To re-use my “Love Boat” analogy, back in the Eighties, if you were a young, unknown actress, a spot on “Love Boat” or “Murder She Wrote” probably seemed like a godsend! It was a paycheck, it was experience, it was something to add to your credits, and it was exposure. But if you were a former Oscar or Emmy winner and you found yourself on “Love Boat,” that was God’s way of telling you “it’s over!” And that’s what Playboy is now for has-been actresses. As for the counterexamples some people offered… Pam Anderson and Jenny McCarthy have NOT exactly gone on to bigger and better things! They’ve undoubtedly made good money, but they’ve done so by continuing to show their boobs. So, if an actress’ dream is to do raunchy teen comedies, “Red Shoe Diaries” and bikini posters forever, then posing in Playboy is a good move. But do you really think that’s what Debbie Gibson (or Farrah or Nancy or Tiffany) had in mind when she agreed to pose? No! She obviously thinks/hopes a nude layout will help launch her back to musical stardom. And that’s a pipe dream. Posing for Playboy has never revitalized a dead career. And it’s rarely been a gateway to bigger and better things. I’m not being moralistic or prudish here. I say, if you think it would be a thrill to pose nude, go ahead! If you need the cash, go ahead! Just don’t kid yourself into thinking it will lead to anything but more of the same. NO serious music producer is going to look at a Tiffany layout and say, “I have to offer her a recording contract!” And Martin Scorsese may read Playboy for his own enjoyment, but I’d wager he’s never looked at a centerfold and exclaimed, “That’s HER! That’s just who I want to star in my next epic!” ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debbie-gibson-posing-in-playboy/286646/37 "2005-01-27T15:19:01Z")
These celebrity women just aren’t thinking about their futures. What they should do is have photos taken NOW, and then hold on to them until they’re down and out. I’m sure Playboy would pay Jessica Simpson a lot more money in 20 years if they could publish pictures of her 19-year old body vs. her 39-year old body. Plus, Playboy would save alot on airbrushing costs. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debbie-gibson-posing-in-playboy/286646/38 "2005-01-27T16:11:00Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I don’t think there’s anything classless about posing in _Playboy_. The quality of Playboy has suffered much in the last decade or so, but it’s hardly a trashy publication like _Maxim_ or _FHM_. Indeed. My rather conservative girlfriend was ok with FHM/Maxim and was rather appalled that my roommate and I had a number of Playboys laying around. I told her to get off my case and take a look because she’d be surprised. And she was- like I explained it to her, it’s like a less juvenile Maxim, except with fairly tastefully done naked women, and the articles/interviews really are pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debbie-gibson-posing-in-playboy/286646/39 "2005-01-27T16:37:25Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > It seems to me that in recent years, a lot of celebrities who are either on their way out, almost on their way out, or have been out for a while are posing. Examples include: > > Carnie Wilson > Brooke Burke > Tia Carrera > Charisma Carpenter > Denise Richards > Debbie Gibson > > There are probably many others. On the other hand…now that I think about it, this probably isn’t a new trend. I think this is a bit harsh on Charisma and Brooke. I don’t think it’s fair to say their careers are about to take a slide. Charisma never was much of a celeb and I’d say she’s doing just as well now, if not better, then she was in her soap days. I see no reason to think that she’s on the slippery slope to obscurity. Ditto with Brooke, she’s never been that big. She was a pin-up with one show on E! that had a modest following, she still is a pin-up with one show on E! with a modest following. Frankly, Playboy might be the high point for her, and I’d guess that her circulation in the other mens mags has increased. The only common thread for these two girls was that their posing seems to have more to do with the post-pregnancy “I’ve still got it!” mindset. Thats a pretty big step up from teh “washed up” celeb cliche IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debbie-gibson-posing-in-playboy/286646/40 "2005-01-27T16:56:15Z")
Cool and the gang. I’ll be getting that issue. She was smokin’ the last time I saw her on TV a few years ago while she was in Grease in London. I wonder will she be keeping her musical MO ie. pose, take the pics, develop them, touch them up and publish them all by herself 😃 She always was better than Tiffany but I always got the idea that Tiffany would ride you into the middle of next week. Filthy little monkey that she is\* \*This post brought to you by the evil sexy… ehh … sexist yojimbo 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debbie-gibson-posing-in-playboy/286646.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debbie-gibson-posing-in-playboy/286646.md?page=3)