Ashley Dupré Puts Francis Out of Focus
It might be wishful thinking at this point, but Ashley Alexandra Dupré is going to try to turn the page.
The former call girl, who was unexpectedly outed when ex-New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer was caught partaking of her services, has dropped her $10 million lawsuit against Girls Gone Wild boss Joe Francis, citing her wish to “eliminate all negativity from her life and focus on the positive.”
“She has prospects for many exciting new projects and is looking forward to starting a new chapter,” attorney Richard C. Wolfe said in a statement released Thursday.
Dupré went after Francis for unjust enrichment and other offenses after he rolled out his plan to capitalize on the New Jersey native’s newfound notoriety by peddling GGW footage shot in 2003 when Dupré was in Florida celebrating her 18th birthday.
While she signed a release before smiling for the camera, she was drunk when she agreeda “routine business practice” employed by GGW, her complaint alleged.
Francis’ camp couldn’t immediately be reached for comment, but the unabashed entrepreneurwho originally extended Dupré a $1 million offer to join the partywas already saying last week that she had abandoned the suit and was planning to issue an apology.
Well, the 23-year-old aspiring singer didn’t go that far, but perhaps she did want to steer clear of the looming deposition Francis’ attorneys requested, a Q&A session that, in Francis’ words, would let the world “learn the real truth about Ashley Dupré.”
And now Francis can face federal tax-evasion charges safe in the knowledge that he has one less lawsuit to fight.
Nick Hogan Gives Up Solitaire
Nick Hogan’s got himself some company.
Two days after a judge denied his request to be transferred out of solitary confinement, Hulk Hogan’s son, who’s serving time for a DUI crash that seriously injured his friend, was moved into a communal cell after a routine assessment of the ever-in-flux jail population, according to a spokeswoman for the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.
Hogan, whose real last name is Bollea, was cooling his heels in an isolated maximum-security cell because, at 17 years of age, he was considered too young to live among the jail’s general population.
Attorney Kevin Hayslett argued in a motion filed Friday that his client was undergoing “cruel and unusual punishment” that didn’t fit the crime by being housed in those conditions. He requested Hogan either be granted house arrest until his 18th birthday or at least moved out of the concrete block he’d been calling home to be with other nonviolent inmates.
A judge refused a transfer but, according to the jail rep, a spot for Hogan opened up following a review of current housing assignments. The teen is now sharing space with three other juvenile offenders.
Hogan, who will turn 18 on July 27, was sentenced in an adult court to eight months behind bars after pleading no contest to reckless driving involving serious bodily injury.
Girls Guy Goes After Governor’s Gal
Joe Francis is looking to use Ashley Dupré’s notorious profession to his advantage once again.
The Girls Gone Wild founder’s legal camp has subpoenaed the aspiring singer who’s far better known for being the call girl caught up in the Eliot Spitzer scandal, reportedly because they want her to detail her experiences as a prostitute.
Dupré sued Francis in April for $10 million, accusing him of exploiting her image after her exploits made her a household name, and apparently, Francis is looking to discredit Dupré before her suit against him ever reaches a jury.
“Now that we are calling on her to testify under oath, the world will learn the real truth about Ashley Dupré,” Francis told TMZ.
Meanwhile, Dupré’s attorney, Don Buchwald, said, “To the extent her testimony is needed, she will of course comply with whatever the rules are in Florida courts.”
After offering Dupré money to party GGW-style just days after the Spitzer story broke, Francis and his producers unearthed footage shot of her during spring break 2003, when she was in Florida to celebrate her 18th birthday.
In promoting the serendipitous find, Francis said Dupré had signed a release form before going Wild. And in response to reports that she was underage when the video was shot, Francis said her actions were mild enough to avoid being classified as illegal.
Dupré’s lawsuit claims she “did not understand the magnitude of her actions, nor that her image and likeness would be displayed in videos and DVDs.”
Nick Hogan Requests Change of Scene
Hulk Hogan’s son has had about enough of himself for now.
Nick Hogan, who, after being sentenced to eight months in jail, has been cooling his heels in solitary confinement because he’s too young to join the general population, filed a motion asking that he be placed on house arrest until July 27, his 18th birthday, or moved into the minimum-security lockup.
Because Hogan, whose real last name is Bollea, is a minor, he has been isolated in a maximum-security cell at Pinellas County Jail, according to his attorney, Kevin Hayslett, who says the teen has lost at least 10 pounds and has no access to a telephone or TV, privileges enjoyed by inmates serving time for similar offenses.
“Understandably, this situation creates an unbearable anxiety for a minor in solitary confinement,” Hayslett wrote in court documents filed Friday. “This sort of confinement “substantially amounts to cruel and unusual punishment for a juvenile and is not warranted for a non-violent first offender serving a probation sentence.”
Hayslett also groused about Bollea’s telephone calls being recorded and disseminated to the press. The 26 hours of taped conversations included “deeply personal communications” and their release “caused unspeakable harm,” wrote Hayslett.
In a letter filed last week, counsel for the Pinella County Sheriff’s Office wrote that Hogan’s “current classification, housing and treatment…are proper.”
Hogan was sentenced May 9 after pleading no contest to one count of reckless driving involving serious bodily injury, punishment for a DUI crash that left his passenger severely injured.
The son of wrestling royalty also received five years’ probation (starting when he reported to jail), 500 hours of community service and a strict order to steer clear of alcohol throughout. He also had his license revoked for three years and was ordered to attend DUI school.