Girls Gone Wild was a huge franchise launched back in the 90s which came surrounded with a lot of controversy and a creator who faced some serious allegations.
The franchise started back in 1997 and was sold on VHS before moving to DVD and within two years, GGW reportedly “made 20 million in revenue”.
Joe Francis’ content was mostly the same each time – videos of intoxicated young women that exposed their bodies on camera, which were then sold across the globe.
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In return, the women were given free underwear, hats and T-shirts emblazoned with the Girls Gone Wild logo.
Issues
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The content was considered soft-core porn and there were many, many problems with the premise.
Much of the video content filmed featured 18-year-old girls – sometimes even younger – who were encouraged by the cameramen to perform for the camera.
The obvious issue is the potential abuse of power and the pressure to comply, especially with a camera shoved in their faces.
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Some of the more non-PG content showed the girls drinking more shots when asked to do so by the camera crew, removing their clothes and kissing their pals.
A few of the more shocking scenes even showed the girls using sex toys on themselves.
Exposing Francis
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As part of TNT’s Rich and Famous series, an exposé on the Girls Gone Wild creator was released back in 2022.
Accusations of physical and emotional abuse were uncovered while filming and featured interviews with some of the women featured in the “movies”.
The director of Rich & Shameless: The Dark Side of the Girls Gone Wild Empire spoke to The Guardian about the documentary.
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Katinka Blackford Newman said: “Behind the fun and the wet t-shirt competitions and this sort of faux feminist revolution – flashing your breasts for the camera – lives were being ruined.
“And there are people whose lives are still being impacted.”
Girls Featured
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In the documentary, one participant even said that when Girls Gone Wild showed up at the scene, it was “like gasoline on fire” as everyone “tried to get on camera”.
However, it appeared there was some foul play and not everyone was a completely willing participant.
In the Rich & Shameless documentary, girls were invited to talk about their experience and some shocking revelations were made.
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One said that she didn’t even know she was being filmed while another said when she was just 17, she was talked into taking part in a wet t-shirt contest.
Tabitha was horrified to discover that her image was being used to advertise the franchise.
She said: “I’m on the cover of these DVDs and these movies – I had no idea.”
One girl admitted that “it was the worst night of her life” while another said: “I was tricked into these child pornography films.”
Shady Business
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The women featured in the films were not paid for their appearances and it seemed that Joe took home all the profits made from the sales of Girls Gone Wild.
In exchange, the participants were given GGW merchandise but were not compensated for their appearance.
Throughout the documentary, it is revealed that Joe “made millions”, had “famous friends” and “a private jet”.
He also faced “allegations of violence and abuse” and one man featured in the documentary said that some bars “paid GGW to be there”.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
