Joe Francis is being accused of brutally raping a young woman in the back of his Girls Gone Wild party bus back in 2006.
The notorious adult content producer, who remains friends with the Kardashian family, is the focus of the first episode of a new true-crime anthology series Rich & Shameless, which premieres on TNT on Saturday. And in that premiere ep, the story of an 18-year-old woman allegedly brutalized by Francis is revealed to the world.
Related: Whoa! Joe Francis Claims His Baby Momma KIDNAPPED Their Twin Girls!
The documentary series’ lead-off, directed by Katinka Blackford Newman, focuses on the dark side of the Girls Gone Wild franchise. It goes well past the spring break-style hedonism it promoted through the 2000s with its adult-themed videos, and instead focuses on the “darkly exploitative and sinister” side of Francis’ story, per the New York Post.
The outlet reported on a preview screener of Newman’s first episode about Francis’ empire, called Girls Gone Wild Exposed. In the episode, the story of an 18-year-old woman named Jannel is revealed. The woman alleges Francis raped her in the back of his tour bus outside a nightclub in Chicago early on the morning of August 25, 2006. Jannel claims Francis allegedly plied her with alcohol and complimented her all night, later asking her to come back to the bus.
Expecting to go just to flash the camera for the GGW show’s producers, Jannel went to the vehicle. However, she claims things quickly took a turn for the worst, alleging she was first forced to “touch” herself with various objects before Francis made his unwanted move.
She alleged in the doc:
“He kept trying to kiss me and saying, ‘It’s going to be OK, it’s going to be OK.’ And I was like, ‘Get off of me, get off of me.’ He basically forced himself on me, and it hurt because I wasn’t ‘turned on,’ so it really hurt. … He took hold of me. I was this 100-pound little girl. I didn’t give my consent that night, and he totally raped me. And then he got off of me like I was garbage.”
OMG…
Blackford Newman spoke to the New York Post about the documentary series, and Francis’ alleged activities, too.
The Emmy-nominated filmmaker explained how celebs like the KarJenners and Brad Pitt, who is seen in one old resurfaced clip speaking positively of Joe Francis, impact the discourse:
“Behind the fun, the wet T-shirt competitions and the faux-feministic liberation centered around flashing your breasts in front of a camera, lives were being ruined. Young women like Jannel thought Joe Francis was OK because he hung out with celebrities. Nobody could believe that somebody who rubs shoulders with the Kardashians, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston could be a violent abuser and a criminal.”
Further laying out how the episode focuses on some of the alleged ways producers coerced girls into escalating their on-camera activities, Blackford Newman continued:
“It literally turns my stomach. That could have easily been my kids. Some famous guys who’s friends with the Kardashians comes along with a camera, asks them to sign something, they’re drunk and don’t know what they’re doing, and bam [their sex tape] is out there for the next 20 years.”
In addition, the episode focuses on Francis’ rise to fame after first launching the Girls Gone Wild empire in 1997. It was a quick ascent, the filmmaker notes, with Joe taking in $20 million during the video series’ first two years of operation, and making more than $100 million annually by 2004.
Part of Blackford Newman’s focus with the doc is how Francis used celebrity connections to drive popularity to his videos. While the Kardashian connection may seem insignificant from the outside looking in, Blackford Newman is clear on how the porn producer’s ties to Kris Jenner‘s famous family, as well as other high-profile people, impacts Francis’ appeal:
“Younger, impressionable women, like Jannel … trusted Joe Francis because of his celebrity [affiliation]. [Celebrities] need to understand that they have a responsibility that if they befriend abusive child pornographers like Joe Francis, they’re giving them credibility.”
Wow.
Here is a preview of the forthcoming episode, which premieres this Saturday on TNT (below):
Will U be watching when Rich & Shameless airs with Francis’ exposé episode in a few days, Perezcious readers?
Sound OFF with all your reactions to this down in the comments (below)…
[Image via ET/YouTube]
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