Opinion: Joe Francis Gone Wild

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Claire Hoffman’s profile of ‘Girls Gone Wild’ founder Joe Francis in Sunday’s West Magazine has sent ripples through the blogosphere. Everyone seems to have the same reaction: What a tremendous jerk. Some selected blog commentary on Francis, and Hoffman’s article:

• Update: The New York Post’s Page Six finally weighs in, calling him ‘worse than wild’: ‘Joe Francis needs to hire a public relations rep as soon as possible.’
• Gawker writesthat ‘His antics in this one piece alone have bought him a whole new fresh round of media abuse [...] roll camera!’
• Ezra Klein says the piece is ‘one of the most chilling and explosive pieces of journalism I’ve ever read.’
• Lilian White at The Modern Girl Friday writes that ‘with men like Joe Francis rampant in the adult entertainment industry, sex is still about exploiting power, money and innocence [...] is it any surprise that sex still has a negative connotation in our society?
• Giant Magazine names Francis ‘Scumbag of the Year’: ‘Sure, it may not be quite as bad as when he was forced at gunpoint to simulate sodomizing himself with a vibrator, but this still can’t be very good for Joe Francis.’
• Defamer is shocked by Francis’ lawyer’s response to a rape allegation: ‘whenever this queasy feeling subsides, we’ll probably be able to better appreciate the courage and skill it takes for a lawyer to refute an allegation of rape with a reference to his client’s allegedly impressive penis size. Perhaps Francis’ PR team will follow up this official statement with an announcement of a telethon to fund the legal defense of overendowed millionaire pornographers who are ruthlessly victimized by inebriated, exhibitionistic co-eds.’
• A Little Cheese With That Wine writes: ‘This man is a pig, a purveyor of what is horrible in our society. And what I find most revolting is that he has more money than he knows what to do with. What I find most chilling is he made this fortune because of a sleazy need in this culture.’