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Chelsea Handler calls out Instagram for taking down topless photo

Chelsea Handler is slamming Instagram as "sexist" after a topless photo of her was removed the photo-sharing service.

It all started with the comedian posted a spoof of an image of Russian President Vladimir Putin posting shirtless while riding a horse. Handler, too, was posing shirtless on a horse. (You can see the photo here.)

"Anything a man can do, a woman has the right to do better #kremlin," she captioned the picture, according to E! News. The pic was taken down by Instagram, which didn't sit well with Handler. So she posted it again, this time writing, "Taking this down is sexist. I have every right to prove I have a better body than Putin."

Instagram apparently disagreed, and took the image down again. Handler then shared the notice they sent her about the photo.

If a man posts a photo of his nipples, it's ok, but not a woman? Are we in 1825?

A photo posted by Chelsea Handler (@chelseahandler) on


Handler reportedly tried to post the pic a third time -- writing, "If Instagram takes this down again, you're saying Vladimir Putin has more 1st amendment rights than me. Talk to your bosses." -- but that appears to have also been taken down.

Handler left her E! talk show "Chelsea Lately" in August and struck a deal to move to Netflix. Her first special for the streaming service, "Chelsea Handler: Uganda Be Kidding Me," debuted on Oct. 10.

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