Girls Gone Wild' founder refuses to surrender

[Tux of Borg]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,264562,00.html

 

'Girls Gone Wild' Founder Defies Federal Judge, Refuses to Surrender to U.S. Marshals

 

PANAMA CITY, Fla. —

The founder of the "Girls Gone Wild" videos has defied a federal judge, calling him a "judge gone wild" and refusing to surrender to U.S. marshals on a contempt citation.

 

U.S. District Judge Richard Smoak ordered Joe Francis into custody after settlement negotiations soured in a lawsuit brought by seven women who were minors when Francis' company filmed them on Panama City Beach.

 

The 34-year-old Francis, who makes an estimated $29 million a year through the videos of girls exposing their breasts, drew the contempt order Wednesday after lawyers for the women said Francis threatened them during negotiations.

 

Francis told The Associated Press late Thursday that Smoak "had lost his mind."

 

"This judge has gone as far as to call me the devil and an evildoer," he said. "It is a case of a judge gone wild."

 

Francis' attorneys appealed the order that would send him to jail; the court had not issued an opinion Thursday evening. Smoak denied a request by Francis to stay the order pending the appeal.

 

Smoak refused requests for comment Thursday.

[The Dean]

Joe Francis is smarmy scum. He is the epitome of what's wrong with our culture, IMO.

[theesir]

Joe Francis is smarmy scum. He is the epitome of what's wrong with our culture, IMO.

Yet another example of appealing to the lowest common denominator and people lapping it up.

 

The worst part about this is this guy and his crew have been accused of drugging/drunking women and raping them a number of time. One time the accusations of a near rape came from a young female reporter who was covering their visit to her town. They have gotten off on these charges each time somehow.

 

I hope he gets thrown in the Federal Pen and gets his pooper plowed by some angry gang member.

[The Big Cat]

Joe Francis is smarmy scum. He is the epitome of what's wrong with our culture, IMO.

 

For once, Dean I'm going to disagree with you. If he was threatening girls or even PAYING girls to exploit themselves then yes. But c'mon, stupid girls who are too pretty for their own good and don't have enough self respect or common sense to keep their breasts in their shirt are the problem with our culture.

[The Big Cat]

Yet another example of appealing to the lowest common denominator and people lapping it up.

 

The worst part about this is this guy and his crew have been accused of drugging/drunking women and raping them a number of time. One time the accusations of a near rape came from a young female reporter who was covering their visit to her town. They have gotten off on these charges each time somehow.

 

I hope he gets thrown in the Federal Pen and gets his pooper plowed by some angry gang member.

 

okay I'm not sure about these rape accusations but if he got off he got off (legally not orgasmically). If I were a bubble head coming to the realization that I may have just humiliated myself and my family, I may also lack the wherewithall to do anything BUT cry rape.

[theesir]

If he was threatening girls or even PAYING girls to exploit themselves then yes. But c'mon, stupid girls who are too pretty for their own good and don't have enough self respect or common sense to keep their breasts in their shirt are the problem with our culture.

 

 

Is this threatening enough for you?

 

In the August 6, 2006 issue of West (the Sunday magazine of the Los Angeles Times)[16], an article by Claire Hoffman followed Francis across the country. In it, Hoffman bore witness to Francis' numerous alleged illegal activities, including habitual supply of alcohol to underage girls. Hoffman reported Francis' alleged rape of an 18 year old virgin, Jannel Szyszka. Quoting Szyska, who was under the legal drinking age in the USA and had allegedly been supplied by alcohol by Francis and her entourage, Hoffman wrote, "Eventually, Szyszka says, Francis told the cameraman to leave and pushed her back on the bed, undid his jeans and climbed on top of her. "I told him it hurt, and he kept doing it. And I keep telling him it hurts. I said, 'No' twice in the beginning, and during I started saying, 'Oh, my god, it hurts.' I kept telling him it hurt, but he kept going, and he said he was sorry but kissed me so I wouldn't keep talking." ... Then, she says, he opened the door and told the cameraman to come back, saying, "She's not a virgin anymore."...She says she's haunted by that night". After the report was published, Francis and his lawyer issued contradictary statements, Francis denying that he engaged in sexual intercourse with Szyszka, while his lawyer claimed that intercourse had occured consensually. Hoffman also reported that she herself was assaulted and "humiliated" physically by Francis in front of his cheering entourage, stating that "the pressure he applied was so intense that hours later, my arms were covered in red hand marks".

 

Google Search "Joe Francis Rape". There are no shortage of results to read.

 

He should be strung up.

[Chef Jim]

Joe Francis is smarmy scum. He is the epitome of what's wrong with our culture, IMO.

 

$29 mill a year selling crap to idiots? He's not smarmy scum, he's my hero.

[smokinandjokin]

Joe Francis is smarmy scum. He is the epitome of what's wrong with our culture, IMO.

 

He is a seedy scumbag, no doubt...But he is not the epitome of a cultural downfall...

 

He is a man who managed to time an idea perfectly with an era. We live in a celebrity-obsessed culture, which is not Joe Francis' fault. There are rich girls like Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, and Jessica Simpson who are famous for NOTHING other than getting photographed drunk, at parties, at bars, and getting out of sportscars flashing their clam.

 

Impressionable female teens and 20-somethings, on Spring Break with a buzz and a desire to get crazy, sign a waver saying they agree to be videotaped popping the hood or playing sticky finger with another chick. It's their 15 minutes and they relish the opportunity to be Paris just once. Hell, Las Vegas shows commercials practically encouraging this, with the "What happens here stays here" tag line.

 

Millions upon millions of these DVD's sold, which is also not Joe Francis' fault. If the first one sold 17 copies, there would never have been a volume 2, much less a volume 52.

 

He had a pretty shady idea which happened to coincide with the popularity of the party girl scene and the boom of the DVD industry. And now he's filthy rich, and using his fame to hang at the cool places and bang the hot girls...Pretty much what every seedy rich guy has been doing since the dawn of time...

[mcjeff215]

okay I'm not sure about these rape accusations but if he got off he got off (legally not orgasmically). If I were a bubble head coming to the realization that I may have just humiliated myself and my family, I may also lack the wherewithall to do anything BUT cry rape.

 

 

What a messy argument on either side. Blame the girl for crying rape and trivialize the charge? Blame the guy even though he's been legally cleared? I'm sure some of it is false. Girls realize what they've done after the hangover wears off and it's the only way out that comes to mind. I'm also fairly certain some scum crew member has taken advantage of more than one of these ladies.

 

They take it a bit further than "take you shirt off." That's what complicates matters. If it was just morons letting them flop around on a beach that would be one thing (expectation of privacy and all that). It's not. Some of those videos clear the hardcore-porn line.

 

What really sucks is that he was able to fully capitalize on it. These girls are so obsessed with appearance, party, and flash that they see no problem doing what they've do for a few dollars here and there. You can't fully fault him for cashing in on it. They see fame. He sees the right place at the right time.

[Nervous Guy]

$29 mill a year selling crap to idiots? He's not smarmy scum, he's my hero.

[This is an automated response]

 

You deserve to get your pooper plowed by some angry gang member.

 

Thank you.

[The Big Cat]

Is this threatening enough for you?

Google Search "Joe Francis Rape". There are no shortage of results to read.

 

He should be strung up.

 

Look, I'm not saying he's innocent, I'm not saying he's a cool guy, a nice guy, or even a decent entrepreneur. In order to validate those claims free from conscious I'd have to have a hefty retainer.

 

But right out of the shoot the story has holes:

 

Did this girl get a rape test within 72 hours of the incident? Was she so drunk she was out of control but not so drunk that her memory was lucid? Was she over 18 and in which state did this occur? To my knowledge, the onus for underage drinking may be on her...?

 

My point is: rather than throw this guy under the bus (where he may in fact belong), let's not absolve his "victims" completely...

[theesir]

[This is an automated response]

 

You deserve to get your pooper plowed by some angry gang member.

 

Thank you.

Glad to see you fixed the Auto-reponder!!!

[mcjeff215]

He is a seedy scumbag, no doubt...But he is not the epitome of a cultural downfall...

 

He is a man who managed to time an idea perfectly with an era. We live in a celebrity-obsessed culture, which is not Joe Francis' fault. There are rich girls like Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, and Jessica Simpson who are famous for NOTHING other than getting photographed drunk, at parties, at bars, and getting out of sportscars flashing their clam.

 

Impressionable female teens and 20-somethings, on Spring Break with a buzz and a desire to get crazy, sign a waver saying they agree to be videotaped popping the hood or playing sticky finger with another chick. It's their 15 minutes and they relish the opportunity to be Paris just once. Hell, Las Vegas shows commercials practically encouraging this, with the "What happens here stays here" tag line.

 

Millions upon millions of these DVD's sold, which is also not Joe Francis' fault. If the first one sold 17 copies, there would never have been a volume 2, much less a volume 52.

 

He had a pretty shady idea which happened to coincide with the popularity of the party girl scene and the boom of the DVD industry. And now he's filthy rich, and using his fame to hang at the cool places and bang the hot girls...Pretty much what every seedy rich guy has been doing since the dawn of time...

 

What he said.

[Chef Jim]

[This is an automated response]

 

You deserve to get your pooper plowed by some angry gang member.

 

Thank you.

 

You're welcome.

[The Big Cat]

What he said.

 

Francis is a drug dealer. He doesn't make the drugs, doesn't have to try to sell them, his customer base affirmatively partakes in morally questionable activity, and as long as there is a demand (from here to eternity) he'll be in business.

[daquix]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,264562,00.html

 

'Girls Gone Wild' Founder Defies Federal Judge, Refuses to Surrender to U.S. Marshals

 

PANAMA CITY, Fla. —

The founder of the "Girls Gone Wild" videos has defied a federal judge, calling him a "judge gone wild" and refusing to surrender to U.S. marshals on a contempt citation.

 

U.S. District Judge Richard Smoak ordered Joe Francis into custody after settlement negotiations soured in a lawsuit brought by seven women who were minors when Francis' company filmed them on Panama City Beach.

 

The 34-year-old Francis, who makes an estimated $29 million a year through the videos of girls exposing their breasts, drew the contempt order Wednesday after lawyers for the women said Francis threatened them during negotiations.

 

Francis told The Associated Press late Thursday that Smoak "had lost his mind."

 

"This judge has gone as far as to call me the devil and an evildoer," he said. "It is a case of a judge gone wild."

 

Francis' attorneys appealed the order that would send him to jail; the court had not issued an opinion Thursday evening. Smoak denied a request by Francis to stay the order pending the appeal.

 

Smoak refused requests for comment Thursday.

 

Holy crap. I'm surprised people haven't started criticizing you for not posting the reason or "your point" in posting this.

[Rubes]

I wonder how this will impact the restaurant chain he's planning on opening?

[aussiew]

Those of you with soon-to-be senior sons in high school should sneak in and observe a party sometime where the kids think there are no parents around. What you see some of these sweet wholesome girls doing (to themselves and each other) will make your hair stand on end.

 

I just spent 4 days in the French quarter. There are thousands of under age girls drinking, gyrating and lifting their shirts for a string of .50c beads. So I could easily believe that they'd do it for a camera for their few minutes of fame.

[Nervous Guy]

Those of you with soon-to-be senior sons in high school should sneak in and observe a party sometime where the kids think there are no parents around. What you see some of these sweet wholesome girls doing (to themselves and each other) will make your hair stand on end.

aye...the Rainbow parties...

[stuckincincy]

I wonder how this will impact the restaurant chain he's planning on opening?

Eat at Joe's?