Ashley Dupre sues Joe Francis for $10 million
Ashley Dupre filed a lawsuit yesterday against Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis for $10 million for exploiting her name and image for profit.
Dupre claims that while vacationing in Florida in 2003, GGW reps came up to her and offered her alcohol before inducing her to expose her breasts and sign a wavier. All of this while she was underage- 17.
Joe Francis is "amazed" that she is suing him because the tape was never released because she was underage at the time. He does say that it “doesn’t matter” if she was underage, since she showed false identification and claimed to be older:
"It is incomprehensible that Ms. Dupré could claim she did not give her consent to be filmed by Girls Gone Wild, when in fact we have videotape of her giving consent, while showing her identification,” Francis told Usmagazine.com…“She’s seeking $10 Million for topless photos taken in front of a room full of people, including two newspapers and multiple crews we had in the room,” he said. “These images were taken in public places and contain no sexual contact. We expect to triumph in this matter and continue to offer the best and hottest girls.”
Joe Francis has just recently been released from Nevada jail last month and continues to be facing federal tax evasion charges in that state.
He is currently being charged in Florida for allegedly filming underage girls in Panama City. He claims that he is not liable because the girls lied about their ages.
Dupre has not made a public appearance since the Eliot Spitzer scandal broke 6 weeks ago. She has ambitions of becoming a pop star, and is said to have received over $200,000 for downloads of her songs. The NY Daily News reports today that she has a new manager for her music career and is shopping around for a label that will have her. Her Myspace has received over 10 million views.
