SI Swimsuit Model Defends Cover Photo

The cover model for this year's Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, Hannah Davis, defended the controversial cover at a celebration of the issue on Wednesday (February 11th).

The 24-year-old model -- who's also retired New York Yankees star Derek Jeter's girlfriend -- called the backlash over the photo "just silly."

She said of the provocative shot of her pulling her bikini bottoms way down to almost show her private parts: "'There are far more scandalous pictures in the magazine if you open it up. It's a girl in a bikini, and I think it's empowering; I've been hearing it's degrading. I think the people who are saying that aren't feminists, because I think when you're a woman and you look at that picture and if you overanalyze it as anything more than just a full picture, it's just silly to me.''