Thousands Of ‘Vulnerable’ Photos Of SI Swimsuit Models In Various “States Of Undress” Go Missing

When Manoj Bhargava took over Arena Group in 2023, he acquired all the magazine’s assets—cameras, lights, and other equipment, as well as the swimsuits and thousands of photographs taken during photo shoots, known as “sitting sheets.”

These sitting sheets document the exact outfits worn by models so editors can accurately detail them later in the magazine .

Sources told Page Six that Bhargava moved these assets to a new office in his New York headquarters, with chaos ensuing within Sports Illustrated shortly after, resulting in a series of legal battles and their subsequent separation from the magazine.

The publication was licensed to Minute Media by ABG in March 2024, forcing Arena Group to transfer the items they were given as previous licensees, however, the missing items were never received.