Trial Lawyers Gone Wild!
A woman walks into a bar -- stop me if you've heard this one -- sees a video camera, walks up the camera and stands before it while another woman pulls down her tank top. The video ends up in Girls Gone Wild, and the woman sues for $5 million in "damages."
The punchline? It takes a jury 90 minutes to throw out the lawsuit. It's a rare bit of sanity in the upside-down world of litigation, but it's not the first lawsuit inspired by GGW. One recent lawsuit included a demand from Ashley Dupre (of Elliot Spitzer fame) for $10 million for damages to her "reputation," and another suit in which a GGW participant (who also happens to be a porn film actress) claims to have been "sexually exploited" by GGW.
Not that I'm trying to elicit sympathy for GGW (run by the apparently very nasty Joe Francis). But really: the fact that these lawsuits ever see the light of day is disturbing news on the personal responsibility front.
- Comment (2)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (1)
Comments :
Jul '10
Re: Trial Lawyers Gone Wild!
Poor Ashley Dupre. I don't think one's reputation can ever be repaired after being linked to Eliot Spitzer.
Re: Trial Lawyers Gone Wild!
But are they really suing for "damages?" These seem to me like strategic lawsuits -- that doesn't make them any better, of course, but they look more like opening salvos in a negotiation for what we in Hollywood call "back-end" profits. Girl shows her wares, the video makers get rich, girl naturally wants her cut.
How do you put a stop to this kind of thing, Adam, without also putting a stop to what is now a cultural expectation that when confronted with a video camera, your average college girl will pull off her top? I mean, let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater.