Jessica

Vozel

Read Jessica's bio and previous columns here

November 26, 2007

Whining Gone Wild: Joe Francis Doesn’t Have It So Tough

In another case of celebrity entitlement, the otherwise irrelevant Joe Francis – producer of “Girls Gone Wild,” the infamous video series featuring women in sexual situations into which they are often coerced – is claiming that he was abused by guards at an Oklahoma jail during his two-week stint there this spring. 

Francis alleges that he was denied food and blankets and was threatened with being strapped nude to a chair for 48 hours (no word on whether the guards planned to video-record this incident, give Francis a t-shirt for his cooperation, and sell the DVD for $9.99). Officials for the county claim that Francis was never threatened and the blanket that they took away was an extra.  According to the jail administrator, Shane Wyatt, “Mr. Francis was treated like every inmate that comes through the Grady County Law Enforcement Center.” I think this fact is exactly what Francis had a problem with.

Prison abuse is a real and reoccurring problem that should be examined. But Francis’s treatment was tame compared to what many inmates experience. If the worst that happened to Joe Francis was that he was deprived of a blanket and threatened with abuse without actually being abused, he should be thankful. 

In stark contrast to Francis’s allegations, a 15-year-old girl in Brazil alleges that she was raped and tortured by 20 men with whom she shared a prison cell. Housed for three weeks in a small town jail for attempted theft, the young woman reportedly was denied food until she participated in sex acts with the other inmates, and also suffered cigarette burns and other abuses. 

Both stories were released on the same day, making Francis look like an entitled, rich, American crybaby in comparison. While Francis’s allegations may seem like insignificant news, such “celebrities” come to represent American culture, and that affects all of us. 

Paris Hilton spends a few weeks in jail and comes out an unscathed martyr with media outlets clamoring for the first interview. She had a cell by herself in a relatively clean facility, yet she told Larry King in that coveted first interview after her release, “I’ve been through a lot. And it was a pretty traumatic experience.”

Yes, of course it was, Paris. It’s jail. That’s kind of the point.  

Celebrities are used to being immune to punishment, and find it absolutely shocking when they are held accountable for their actions. Joe Francis was arrested for tax evasion, and is awaiting trial next year. So far he seems to be unrepentant for both the tax evasion and the slew of other wrongdoings perpetuated by the Girls Gone Wild franchise, including preying upon intoxicated, sometimes under-aged, young women in hopes that their inhibitions have been sufficiently lowered and they will strip for the camera. 

Being unrepentant is one thing, but taking it to the next level by actively complaining about one’s situation and making oneself the victim is the worst kind of narcissism. Francis should own up to his mistakes and acknowledge that being short a blanket and being teased for a couple weeks is not an appalling injustice. 

Young people are being dubbed “the entitlement generation,” and celebrities like Paris Hilton and Joe Francis (who once dated, ironically, and have the videotapes to prove it) are becoming the unelected representatives. It’s unfortunate that by default celebrities become the gauge of a nation simply because they’re the recognizable faces. Even worse, the more outrageous the celebrities are, the more headlines they make and the more recognizable they become. 

So, cheer up, Joe. It could be a lot worse. You could have suffered a fate like the one of the young girl tortured in Brazil, who now has entered a witness protection program. Or, you could have heard from a friend that an embarrassing videotape from that night you had a bit too much to drink is being sold to willing buyers everywhere. Happy Thanksgiving, indeed.

© 2007 North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without permission.

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