Why is Penny naked?

She got a new acting assignment

It was two weeks before the end of the month and Penny barely had enough money in the bank to buy a Happy Meal, much less pay rent. She kept begging her agent for an acting assignment because she really did not want to borrow any more rent money from her neighbor Sheldon Cooper but there were none to be had.

Then midway through the week, she finally got a call from her agent. An eccentric millionaire who lived on the outskirts of town was looking for a young actress roughly Penny's age who was willing to pose for a special art exhibit in his family mansion. The assignment would require her to pose almost 24/7 with only a few breaks for meals, naps and restroom functions. The job paid so much that Penny would be able to pay her rent and still have money left over; however, since she had lived in LA for so long, she could not help but wonder what the catch was.

She asked her agent.

"Apparently there's no costume," her agent replied.

"Oh, good," said Penny. "Then I won't have to dress up; I can just wear regular clothes."

"No, you don't understand," said the agent. "Our client wants you to pose as a living statue; moreover, he wants you to pose as a naked living statue. Which means you don't wear anything."

"I can't do that," said Penny.

"Then you don't get the assignment," said the agent. "I'll call someone else."

"No, wait," said Penny. "Maybe I can do it. Can I maybe just wear a little bitty costume like, say, a bikini or lingerie?"

"No," said the agent. "But the client did give you the option of wearing this."

The agent opened her top desk drawer and pulled out a costume.

"But that's a leaf," said Penny.

"A fig leaf, to be exact," said the agent. "What can I say? This client likes to do things old school."