Janine Tugonon Nude Photo: Filipino Television Host And Former Miss Universe Runner-Up To Appear In Calendar For U.S. Magazine

Janine Tugonon will have a nude picture featured in a new publication, giving the Filipino model and television host a major step toward launching her modeling career in the United States.

Tugonon gained fame four years ago when she finished second place in the Miss Universe pageant, but in recent years has been aiming to kick-start her international modeling career. As InterAksyon noted, Janine Tugonon took a major step toward that by appearing nude in Nu Muses, a calendar put together by the United States-based magazine Treats! that aims to “redefine nudity as fine art.”

“The mission of Nu Muses is to celebrate the forgotten art of the classic nude, to capture the elegance and romance of the female form, worthy of gracing fine art galleries and walls,” the company’s official website noted.

To be able to appear nude in the final calendar, Janine Tugonon had to go through a rigorous screening and selection process. She was among a group of 100 models initially selected to compete for the job, with social media voters narrowing it down to 30 finalists. A panel of judges picked the final 12 who would be included, and Tugonon was among them.

As Tugonon wrote on Instagram, she didn’t initially think she would make it.

“I thought I did really bad during the testshoot/final casting since i was having a bad day that day But got the call from my agent few days after and it was AMAZING!!! Thank you so much@numuses for including me,” Janine posted on her Instagram page on Friday shortly after the announcement

This is now the second big break for Janine Tugonon in recent weeks as she aims to launch her modeling career. Back in September, she appeared in an advertisement for Victoria’s Secret Pink that showed her and a number of other models as students.

Tugonon had moved from her native Philippines to New York to launch her modeling career, ABS-CBN News reported. She is now working under MSA Models.

The nude photo of Janine Tugonon is hitting the news just after a high-profile story involving another Miss Universe winner, Alicia Machado. At last week’s United States presidential debate, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton referenced the Venezuelan pageant winner as an attack against her opponent, Republican Donald Trump.

Clinton noted that Trump went on the offensive against Machado after the 1996 Miss Universe winner put on some weight after the pageant. Trump reportedly called her “Miss Piggy” and “Miss Housekeeping,” but instead of apologizing, the Republican candidate appeared to defend the attacks this week.

Later in the week, Trump sent out a tweet calling on people to check out Alicia Machado’s “sex tape,” a reference that earned him widespread criticism.

“Did Crooked Hillary help disgusting (check out sex tape and past) Alicia M become a U.S. citizen so she could use her in the debate?,” he wrote.

And as many noted, it wasn’t actually Machado that appeared in the very explicit videos that had been popping up in internet search results for her name. There was actually another adult film star who had a slight resemblance to Machado who was seen in videos that were mistakenly labeled as Alicia Machado. Politico noted that “the Daily Beast and other outlets that investigated the claim found no evidence that she has starred in any pornographic films and that the clips posted online actually feature another woman.”

Janine Tugonon is getting more than just additional fame with her nude photo. She also received $10,000 and got to travel to Casa Kimball in the Dominican Republic to shoot it.

Those interested in seeing Janine Tugonon’s nude photo for the Nu Muses calendar can check it out on the model’s Instagram page.

[Featured Image by Janine Tugonon/Instagram]