Girls Gone Wild (franchise)

The first Girls Gone Wild film was released in 1997.[5] In 2001 the company sold 4.5 million videos and DVDs.[2][6] By the end of 2002, the company had produced 83 different titles and had begun airing 30-minute infomercials on E! Entertainment Television, Fox Sports Net, BET, Comedy Central, Tech TV, Style, and all other major U.S. networks.[2] The infomercials targeted a late-night channel-surfing demographic that Joe Francis had identified in the late 1990s.[2] According to TNS Media Intelligence, Girls Gone Wild spent more than $21 million in advertising in 2003, becoming the largest advertiser for programs on the E! channel. In 2008, Francis' net worth was approximately $150 million.[7]

Instances of Girls Gone Wild in popular culture include the appearance of Eminem and Snoop Dogg in the company's videos,[1][2] as well as various references and parodies of the show in popular television series and movies. MGM announced in 2002 that it would release a feature-length film based on the Girls Gone Wild concept.[1][8]

In September 2005, Girls Gone Wild announced that it would donate all proceeds of Mardi Gras–themed DVDs and videos to the Red Cross.[12] Proceeds from the video sales, which included a title featuring Snoop Dogg, were intended to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.[12]

In 2004, Girls Gone Wild began soliciting men for participation in their videos.[1] Guys Gone Wild was a video series and male analogue of Girls Gone Wild targeted at young women.[13] These video tapes and DVDs featured much the same content as the Girls equivalent, only instead showing young men performing for the camera—e.g., in the shower, playing football naked, etc.[14]

In an article,[15] Bill Horn, spokesman for Mantra Entertainment which produced the videos, notes a gender-related double standard in these videos. In the Girls Gone Wild series, sometimes the young women kiss, while the guys' series does not have that feature. Horn explains: "Let's face it, there's a double standard when it comes to guy-on-guy as opposed to girl-on-girl. It's sexy to see two girls making out. It's not considered sexy to see two guys making out. That's just the reality, and, we were there to capture the reality."[16]

The hour-long Guys Gone Wild productions featured women camera operators who encouraged men to get naked and perform strip teases.[13]

In 2003, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a complaint against Girls Gone Wild alleging that the company failed to notify customers when they purchased subscriptions under a continuity program, rather than single DVDs.[17] In 2004, GGW settled for $1.1 million and agreed to disclose all terms and get consent for recurring charges.[18]

In 2006, Girls Gone Wild marketer MRA Holdings pleaded guilty to charges for failing to record the ages of its subjects 2002 and 2003.[19] The parties agreed to pay $2.1 million in restitution and fines.[19]

In 2008, Ashley Dupré filed against Joe Francis and other defendants claiming that they filmed her without consent.[20][21] She later dropped the suit, commenting through her attorney that she wanted to focus on positive opportunities in her life.[22]

In 2008, a Missouri woman claimed that she was filmed without consent when a Girls Gone Wild contractor removed her halter top at a St. Louis bar.[23] A jury found that she consented. On re-trial, a judge awarded the woman $5.77 million after the defense failed to show at court.[24] On appeal, the judge upheld the verdict.[25]

In March 2008, four women claimed that they suffered emotional distress by being shown in Girls Gone Wild film.[26] In April 2011, an all-female jury declined to award damages to the plaintiffs.[26] However, in January 2015, Francis agreed to settle a separate 2003 lawsuit which involved allegations of him taping the exposed breasts of underage girls as part of Girls Gone Wild content.[27] The 2015 civil settlement also involved Francis agreeing to serve 336 days in jail after accepting a no contest plea to criminal charges of child abuse and prostitution.[27]