Overview
- Cotton told listeners on her podcast that she was shouted at by a Vatican security guard after trying to take a photo of the Sistine Chapel ceiling.
- She said she had missed an on-site tannoy announcement banning photography and attempted the picture without using a flash.
- The Vatican Museums ban photography to protect fragile, centuries-old frescoes and to preserve silence, and guards can order visitors to delete images or remove them.
- Cotton said the reprimand left her “riled,” that she dislikes being told what to do, and that she nonetheless understands there may be religious reasons for the rule.
- The episode was reported by UK outlets based on Cotton’s podcast account and there is no public Vatican statement or further escalation reported so far.