‘Girls Gone Wild’ exploited underage girls, crew members told ‘don’t take no for an answer’

For much of the early 21st century, “Girls Gone Wild” sold itself as a carefree, pop culture phenomenon that profited on the vulnerability of young women as a source of entertainment. Now, the franchise’s darkest secrets are being exposed in a three-part docuseries titled, “Girls Gone Wild: the Untold Story.”

The series, which premiered on Peacock on Dec. 3, details the dark reality of what was really happening behind-the-scenes, including allegations of child abuse, rape, prostitution, exploitation and a string of legal scandals all allegedly orchestrated by its founder, Joe Francis.

Featuring various emotional interviews from Francis’ alleged victims, former employees and others, the disgraced franchise owner – who has been living in Mexico for close to a decade – also shares his side of the story with his first in-depth interview in years. 

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Here are six bombshells from “Girls Gone Wild: The Untold Story.”

UNDERAGE GIRLS

At one point in the documentary, Francis puts things bluntly about the women he films.

“I don’t want f—ing minors in my s—.  I don’t wanna go to jail. There’s no difference between an 18-year-old and a 17-year-old. But, you know what? An 18-year-old girl is legal, so, it can go in the video,” he told journalist and co-executive producer of the docuseries, Scaachi Koul. 

“Am I totally misunderstood? Absolutely. You know, I was an owner of a company. You can’t hold Jeff Bezos responsible for what one of his hundred thousand Amazon delivery guy[s] does. If he pees in somebody’s lawn, and that’s basically what we’re talking about right here.”

Underage girls were apparently a dime a dozen in “Girls Gone Wild!” according to the documentary. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)

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However, underage girls were allegedly a dime a dozen in “Girls Gone Wild!”

A young woman named Lori spoke about her filming experience, admitting she was only 16 when she flashed the camera in Lake Havasu, Arizona.

“These guys walked up. They asked me to flash my boobs. And they had the beads in their hands. They were shiny disco-ball beads, too. And I flashed the guys, real fast, it was like quick. And I remember it was in the clear, nobody else could see, so I was good to go. And then, I got the beads. I thought the guys were filming because they’re, you know, like perverted guys. I thought nobody would ever know,” she recounted.

Lori ultimately sued “Girls Gone Wild!” and received a small settlement. “The company removed me [from the video], but there’s so many girls on that tape that are underage. It was like finding a needle in a haystack.”

Multiple women describe being taken advantage when they were filmed for “Girls Gone Wild!” (Photo by Denise Truscello/WireImage for Girls Gone Wild)

Trista was not a minor when she was filmed, but describes being taken advantage of. 

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“Back then, you didn’t think about social media, you didn’t think about the Internet. You could do what you wanted, without having to worry about it coming back. I remember them buying shots for all the girls. I think I lost my friends at that point in time, so I started looking for them. And then I was approached outside by one of the camera crew.  It felt like a spotlight kind of shining on me. I’d had a few drinks. I thought I could hold my liquor, but at that point of time I was 19, and it got dark after that. And I don’t remember much after that. And the next morning, I knew something happened. I didn’t like that things were fuzzy.”

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“I don’t think it’s ethical,” she said. “I think it’s immoral. And I feel like they think it’s okay ’cause Joe Francis and his team at ‘Girls Gone Wild’ tried to make it okay.”

Several women recall being significantly inebriated before filming. “I definitely think that ‘Girls Gone Wild!’ was looking for naive women. I just was so naive. I didn’t realize I could say no,” a woman named Danielle noted.

NOT TAKING ‘NO’ FOR AN ANSWER

Joe Francis is accused of running a company that was framed around the concept of not taking “no” for an answer. (Photo by Jean Baptiste Lacroix/WireImage)

The environment of “Girls Gone Wild!” and Francis’ company Mantra Films was apparently framed around the concept of not taking “no” for an answer. 

In one episode of the documentary, the vice president of Mantra Films can be heard praising a cameraman who persuaded a woman to bear more than she originally wanted to.

“I love see guys take a girl who wasn’t going to do anything and all of a sudden, get’s them to pull down a thing and, ‘Ok, I’ll show you my thong.’ And the next thing you know, ‘Show me your thong and flash me.’ And the next thing you know, now they’re kind of loose, and the next thing you know, it just goes on and keeping going. Don’t take no for an answer.”

In another clip, guidelines that were presumably written for producers were shown on screen. They read, “At the same time, it is important to be aggressive. The cuter girls/hotter chicks naturally are less inclined to flash for the camera. DO NOT give up and move on to someone else[s] girls. BE PERSISTENT and more times than not it will pay off.”

FIRST ARREST AND FBI RAID

Joe Franics was arrested in 2003 and subsequently had his building searched by the FBI. (Photo by Denise Truscello/WireImage)

In 2003, Francis and his crew took over Panama City, Florida, filming all over public property, which greatly upset the police chief at the time, Lee Sullivan. As a result, Francis was arrested for racketeering, but that charge was eventually dropped. 

That same year, members of the “Girls Gone Wild!” crew faced charges related to child prostitution and child pornography after filming several women, who ended up being underage, during spring break in Panama City. 

When the FBI infiltrated his building in 2005 to look for more evidence, employees thought there could be a litany of reasons as to why they were there. 

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“I’m not a criminal. I’m an innocent person. They didn’t have anything on me,” Francis reflected on the situation. 

In the Mantra Films office, they had a vault of unreleased footage with underage girls, former production supervisor Solo told the camera. “Before the FBI came, we got rid of any title that was problematic,” she explained. 

Joe Francis maintains he is not a criminal. (Photo by Vincent Sandoval/WireImage)

“Just destroy ‘em. Just get rid of ’em. Take them out of existence.”

In 2006, Francis pleaded guilty to three counts of producing visual depictions of sexually explicit conduct without keeping records of each performer. He was given 200 hours of community service and had to pay $2.1 million in fines.

FRANCIS CLAIMS HE WAS ‘VICTIMIZED’ 

When Koul asked the embattled businessman if he felt badly for the women that were in his films, he said, “no.”

“Because I don’t think they were victimized. I believe they victimized me.”

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Koul pointed out that the women at the center of the Panama City case were “pretty young,” too young to legally be held liable for their actions. Francis was not happy.

“No, they were 17, just shy of 18,” he claimed. “They’re the ones that victimized us. I believe- and 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 snakepit.”

RAPE ALLEGATION

Joe Francis was accused of rape by journalist Claire Hoffman. (Photo by Chris Weeks/WireImage for Us Weekly Magazine)

Claire Hoffman, a journalist who declined to be part of the docuseries, interviewed Francis for the Los Angeles Times in 2006. Initially invited to Francis’ compound in Mexico to stay and write the profile, Hoffman’s editor would not allow it, cognizant that young women could be taken advantage of in this industry.

Francis later suggested she come to Chicago to watch the filming for a new “Girls Gone Wild!” to understand how the show operates, and her editor agreed. Hoffman alleges that she was pinned against a car by Francis, leaving her covered in bruises. She was ultimately able to free herself but was completely disturbed by the incident.

Since she continued to go forward with the profile, where she would include what really happened between them, she needed to corroborate her story. A woman named Janell confirmed Hoffman’s account, saying she was there that night. 

The same night, she went onto Francis’ tour bus, where she alleges Francis raped her. Although she filed a police report, Janell did not press charges.

“Trust me, by now, there would be so many other girls saying that I raped them, if I had,” Francis told Koul in retrospect. “I’ve never raped a woman, ever. Ever. Or a man,” he said with a laugh. “Or a child.”

FRANCIS FLED TO MEXICO AFTER ARREST

Joe Francis fled to Mexico in 2015 while he was out of prison pending his appeal, after being sentenced to serve 270 days in prison in 2013. (Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Mixology 101)

After being arrested in 2011 for imprisoning three women at his Hollywood home, assaulting one of them, Francis was sentenced to serve 270 days in prison in 2013 but was released pending an appeal.

Francis fled to Mexico with his girlfriend at the time, Abbey Wilson, in 2015. The former couple had two daughters together. 

Ronald Richards, an attorney for Francis’ now ex Wilson, said, “999 of 1,000 people would not flee the country to just avoid serving a misdemeanor sentence for assault at the county jail. Now he’s looking at two years to three years in custody if he ever came back.”

While living a luxurious lifestyle on an oceanfront property, Wilson eventually accused Francis of rape and physical assault. She, and their two daughters, moved back to the United States. 

Francis is currently living in Punta Mita, Mexico, and has no plans to return. He has vehemently denied all allegations against him.

Representatives for Francis did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org 

Fox News Digital’s Lori Bashian contributed to this report.