A trove of Polaroid photos (instant photos) including unedited photos of famous swimsuit models such as Gigi Hadid, Kim Kardashian, Irina Shayk, and Emily Ratajkowsk… were lost during the transfer of ‘Sports Illustrated magazine.

Page Six reported that widespread concern was raised when a trove of sensitive photos of most of the world’s famous swimsuit models, who had posed for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, was lost. These were Polaroid photos that were not intended for publication, so the models in the photos were often in a vulnerable state.

Brittany Mahomes models swimsuit for Sports Illustrated

The inability to find the sensitive photo archive raises concerns about its public dissemination. The archive includes photos of many famous models, from Gigi Hadid to Kim Kardashian, Irina Shayk, Emily Ratajkowski, Ashley Graham… and beauties who have appeared in the famous Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.

Model Gigi Hadid, Miss Olivia Culpo on Swimsuit Issue magazine

In 2023, Indian-American billionaire Manoj Bhargava took over Sports Illustrated and its famous bikini issue, the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. He took control of all the magazine’s equipment, including cameras, lights, swimsuit inventory, and a huge archive of Polaroid photos taken during most of the magazine’s fashion shoots.

Manoj Bhargava moved everything to his company’s New York office. However, his tenure ended early after a series of high-profile staff firings and the billionaire’s relationship with Swimsuit Issue‘s parent company ended in messy litigation. By March of this year, a new company had taken over the magazine, according to Page Six.

Insiders say the Polaroid photo archive and necessary equipment were not returned after the deal closed. Swimsuit Issue staff repeatedly asked for a list of the goods to be transferred, but Manoj Bhargava’s staff did not respond.

Polaroid photos are not for publication but are used as documentation after photo shoots.