Facebook has issued an official statement apologising for the removal of posts including a famous nude photo of late actor Burt Reynolds.
The iconic photo shoot appeared in Cosmopolitan in 1972 and fans had shared the image online this week after Reynolds died aged 82 on Thursday (6 September).
Facebook’s servers automatically flagged the posts as violations of their no-nudity policy and they were subsequently deleted.
Now, a spokesperson for the social media giant has apologised for the “mistake” and any “inconvenience” caused.
“The image in question was mistakenly removed,” read a statement to Entertainment Weekly.
“We are restoring the image as it does not break our standards and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.”
The image in question, which shows Reynolds lying completely nude on a bearskin rug with his hand carefully placed over his genitals, is from a well-publicised 1972 spread in Cosmopolitan magazine.
Selling more than 1.5 million copies, It has since become legendary as a memento of Reynolds’ long and colourful career as a Hollywood sex symbol.
In fact, Reynolds has blamed the “publicity stunt” for his critically acclaimed movie Deliverance, which came out two months later, failing to win any Oscars.
“It’s been called one of the greatest publicity stunts of all time, but it was one of the biggest mistakes I’ve ever made,” he wrote, “and I’m convinced it cost Deliverance the recognition it deserved.”
The actor, most famous for roles in Boogie Nights and Smokey and the Bandit, died this week, at the Jupiter Medical Center in Florida.
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mark Wahlberg were among Hollywood’s big names paying tribute to the late icon.
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