‘Girls Gone Wild’ Creator Doesn’t Regret Exploiting Young Women

Adult Entertainment changed in a big way with the arrival of Girls Gone Wild. Created by Joe Francis, the video series debuted in 1997 and flourished due to its presence on late-night TV with infomercials that fueled its popularity. Peacock‘s new docuseries, Girls Gone Wild: The Untold Story, revisits the infamous franchise and addresses claims that the young women featured in the videos were exploited. For the first time, Francis is addressing those claims as well, and let’s just say that he’s not too apologetic.

In the late ’90s and early ’00s, there wasn’t much acknowledgment of the problematic nature of Girls Gone Wild, which typically featured footage of young women, presumably college-aged, getting nude on camera and engaging in wild behavior, usually during Spring Break or at Mardi Gras. The company has since filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2013 and the videos are now sold primarily through its website as streaming downloads and DVDs. Meanwhile, the public view of Girls Gone Wild changed considerably in the wake of the #MeToo movement, especially as it was alleged that underage girls might have been exploited in the series. Francis has primarily stayed out of the public eye in recent years because of various legal woes, but re-emerged in the new Peacok series.

In the docuseries, per Entertainment Weekly, Francis participates in an audio-only interview with journalist Scaachi Koul to discuss Girls Gone Wild. At one point, Francis is asked if he “feels bad” about the slew of underage girls that may have been exploited by cameramen who pressured them to engage in lewd behavior with the help of alcohol. In a very frank response, Francis says, “No, because I don’t believe they were victimized. They victimized me.” Francis is referring to a 2008 judgment involving an incident in 2003, when the crew of Girls Gone Wild filmed young women engaging in sexual activity during a trip to Panama City, Florida. The teens who participated all turned out to be underage, and once that was reported, it laid the groundwork for a series of charges against Francis and the company. When told the girls were too young to consent to such activity, Francis fired back with more denials:

“No, they were 17, just shy of 18. They were the ones that victimized us. I believe, we all believe, that they were put up by the Panama City police, and it was all an operation. So I believe that was quite orchestrated. I walked into a f***ing snake pit, okay?”

Joe Francis Has Never Expressed Regret About ‘Girls Gone Wild’

That victim-blaming mentality is unsurprising coming from Francis, who has never really expressed any regrets about how Girls Gone Wild might have affected the young women, underage or not, who participated in it. At one time, Francis’ net worth was reportedly $150 million due to the success of Girls Gone Wild, so any regret he might’ve felt was probably negated by his success. Some Girls Gone Wild crew members appeared in the Peacock docuseries and expressed regret for how they obtained footage – by descending on spring break towns and engaging with young women who were clearly inebriated – but Francis isn’t one of them. He’s very proud of the “kingdom” he created.

In fact, he seems to think he paved the way for Kim Kardashian’s sex tape. Said Francis:

“It loosened everything up. I think it just made for a so much more fun generation. I think it created the ability to have, obviously, the Kardashians, and it did so much more. More, everything, more for society, for life.”

Francis may think he led some kind of sexual revolution, but Girls Gone Wild honestly appealed to the lowest common denominator, and definitely didn’t empower its participants. Many women who work in adult entertainment have spoken about feeling liberated and empowered by their careers. It doesn’t seem like the same will ever be said of Girls Gone Wild.

If there is some silver lining and a case to be made that karma does indeed exist, Francis has been living in exile in Mexico because of an active warrant since 2014. Also, due to the 2003 incident in Panama City, Florida, Francis found himself facing RICO charges, which ultimately led to misdemeanor child abuse and prostitution charges. For his part, Francis pleaded no contest, but he’s been the subject of other similar charges that he has pleaded guilty to. This scandal will likely follow Francis for a very long time, something the young women who were unlucky enough to be a part of his “more fun generation” know all too well.

Girls Gone Wild: The Untold Story
is currently streaming on Peacock