“America’s” WIN is Capitol Hill’s LOSS
LOS ANGELES, May 4th, 2012 – U.S. Senator Mark Pryor (D-ARK) take notice, the winner of “The Search for the Hottest Girl in America” Season 3 has finally been announced. After thousands of fan votes, 24 year old Abbey Lauren Wilson of Oklahoma City, OK was crowned the winner in last night’s dramatic season finale. The stunning blonde edged out thousands of other contestants to win this year’s coveted title.
The Capitol Hill controversy began when Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis purchased an internship through a charity auction, to take place in U.S. Senator Mark Pryor’s office in Washington D.C this summer. Francis then added the internship to the prize package for this season’s winner, until the Senator went public claiming it was all a hoax. Francis’s name was cleared when Chad Brownstein, son of prominent lobbyist Norm Brownstein, admitted that he had in fact arranged for the internship with Senator Pryor’s office, and promptly apologized.
While Abbey Lauren Wilson won’t be walking up those steps on Capitol Hill this summer, she will still be juggling plenty of work as this season’s winner. After her big win, Wilson said, “I am unbelievably excited and honored to have been voted as this season’s winner. This means the world to me!” Wilson went on to say, “I want to thank all of the Girls Gone Wild fans and everyone that voted for me. Thank you!”
Joe Francis said, “Abbey really deserved to win. She will be a great global ambassador for the Girls Gone Wild brand.” As for the internship controversy, Francis commented, “Abbey would have been a great intern. Senator Pryor truly missed out.”
“Girls Gone Wild® Presents: Search for the Hottest Girl in America” airs Thursday and Saturday nights on HDNet at 10:00 p.m. PT.
Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis announced in a press release that he had won an internship in a charity auction. This internship was scheduled to take place this summer in the office of U.S. Senator Mark Pryor in Washington, D.C. However, Senator Mark Pryor is now claiming that the internship and the charity that auctioned the prize off is a hoax. Noting that “Our office does not sell, auction or donate internships. We believe someone outside Senator Pryor’s office has broken the law by fraudulently impersonating a U.S. Senator, fraudulently attempting to sell a government position and using the Senate seal without authorization. We have asked the FBI to fully investigate who is perpetrating this fraud against the senator and the U.S. Senate.”
In an exclusive interview with CNN, Joe sat down and talked about his intentions with the internship. Saying he not only thought it was a great opportunity for the winner but, also really fun! Another interesting point that CNN brings up is that Pryor has visited the Temple before noting that, “he was the guest of a congregate, Chad Brownstein.”
Brownstein now admits in an apology letter to Senator Pryor that it was his fault for the misunderstanding stating “I thought it might be possible to auction off an unpaid month-long summer internship for a high school student with your office…I said that if the person whose bid was selected was forever reason not approved, the Temple would give the money back. I didn’t realize that the item would be posted before I had a change to check with your office. Nor did I realize that it would be posted without the caveat that the person would have to be approved. Unfortunately there was a miscommunication.”
While the money has been returned, Francis is still waiting for an apology from the Senator who, refuses to acknowledge what went down.
Watch the news below!
In response to the cease and desist letter issued by Girls Gone Wild attorney David Houston earlier this month, Joe Francis has scored a victory against the likes of Madonna without ever having to set foot in a courtroom. Apparently, Madonna and her record label, Interscope, have seen it Joe’s way because it appears that they have agreed to change the song title and lyrics from “Girls Gone Wild” to “GIRL Gone Wild.”
According to Billboard, the first track from her new album MDNA, “Give Me All Your Luvin,” which she performed at the Super Bowl, plummeted 29 spots on the Hot 100 singles chart. There’s been speculation of a strong push to shoot the video and release the newly titled track, “Girl Gone Wild” much earlier than expected. “Clearly her label was trying to avoid legal action surrounding the song.” says Francis. “BUT, this is still infringement as far as the law is concerned and we have been in touch with Madonna’s representatives in an effort to resolve this issue.”
Read about it on New York Daily News
Read about it at TMZ
Joe hosts the sexy fun-filled series, Search for the Hottest Girl in America, which airs Thursdays at 1am ET/10pm PT on HDNet. This wildly popular reality series is back and better than ever! Joe commented saying, “Viewers definitely won’t be disappointed. All of the girls are amazing and the competition is tighter than previous seasons.” After two successful seasons, season 3 promises yet another nostalgic ride aboard the Girls Gone Wild Buses. They have traveled from LA to New York and hit every city in-between. After thousands of submissions, it will come down to one lucky winner. The finalists are yet to be revealed, so be sure to watch to find out who makes it to Girls Gone Wild Island for the series finale and who gets left behind.
Click here to watch season 3 trailer
Lifelong friends in and outside of the business, Joe was asked to present Vivid Entertainment Founder Steve Hirsch with the Visionary Award at the 2012 AVN Awards in Las Vegas. Hirsch became the first recipient of the prestigious honor after spending a couple of decades transcending a sometimes challenging industry while virtually making Vivid a household name. Joe opened with an eloquent intro saying, “I’m humbled and honored to present this award to a visionary, a mentor and a true friend of mine,” before a packed house at The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on the famous Vegas strip.
Joe and Steve at the AVN red carpet arrivals
Joe presents Steve the AVN Visionary Award
Joe Francis hosted a Halloween party for capacity crowds at Atlanta’s hottest club to shoot scenes for season 3 of the hit HDNet series “Girls Gone Wild Presents: Search for the Hottest Girl in America.” Joe rocked the VIP lounge at Opera with some of the hottest girls in the club who were dressed for the occasion in costumes ranging from a sexy angel to a sexy cop to sexy schoolgirl and even a sexy werewolf. “A lot of people don’t know this, but I was actually born in Atlanta,” Joe told a cheering crowd. “Thanks for making us feel so welcome. Let’s get wild!”
Joe’s wildly popular Girls Gone Wild brand has enjoyed a prominent place on the pop cultural landscape since its inception, with references appearing in newspapers, magazines, movies, TV shows, and even song lyrics. This holiday season, Girls Gone Wild is featured on the big screen in “New Year’s Eve,” a romantic comedy from Warner Brothers and New Line Cinema. Directed by Garry Marshall and boasting a star-studded cast, the film features a scene in which Sarah Jessica Parker’s character is petitioned by her teenage daughter (Abigail Breslin) for permission to attend the New Year’s Eve festivities in Times Square. Hoping to indicate she’s old enough to attend the event, the daughter lifts her sweater in the middle of Grand Central Terminal to show “This is not a training bra!” Parker responds with comic alarm by exclaiming “And this is not Girls Gone Wild!” “New Year’s Eve” opens in theaters everywhere on December 9.
Click here to watch the New Year’s Eve trailer.
Mario Lopez’s new hit reality show “H8R” on the CW features celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Eva Longoria and The Bachelor’s Jake Pavelka confronting a “hater” critical of that celebrity’s success, fame or lifestyle, and gives the celebrity a chance to try win the hater over. Joe Francis is featured in the series’ fourth episode, where he meets self-described “southern redhead with an attitude” Peggy, who regards him as “A Mom’s worst nightmare, who exploits young women.” It’s a charge Joe has heard (and easily debunked) many times before. A surprise encounter with Joe at a Beverly Hills hotel and a visit to a Girls Gone Wild photo shoot at his Bel Air mansion gave Peggy a unique opportunity to get to know the real Joe Francis. “I want to see if I can make her understand who I am and turn my hater around,” Joe explained at the top of the show. In the course of the episode, Joe did just that ?and more. After learning his life story and listening to Joe explain his point of view regarding a woman’s right to make her own choices, Peggy admitted to her former nemesis, “You’re not the man I thought you were, you’re actually better. I’m not a hater.” Joe took the experience in good humor. “Every high profile individual has haters,” he said. “Even the president of the United States. Being a celebrity is all about people taking shots at you. That’s what makes it interesting.” H8R airs Wednesday nights at 8 pm on the CW. Click here to watch Joe Francis on H8Rs.
Joe beat the house and walked away with a decisive victory in a courtroom battle with Las Vegas casino owner Steve Wynn, who had accused Joe of failing to pay a non-existent gambling debt back in 2007. News of Joe’s impressive triumph made headlines across the country. Wynn reportedly pressured the Las Vegas District Attorney’s office to file criminal charges against Joe in what amounted to a civil dispute over a bogus gambling debt that Joe has denied owing from the beginning. Joe was exonerated of all charges when District Court Judge Linda Bell agreed with Joe and threw the case out of court after finding absolutely no evidence of wrongdoing on Francis’s part. “I have maintained my innocence in this matter from the start,” Joe said. But he’s not letting Wynn off easily. “I think it was disgusting that Wynn attempted to manipulate banking records to try to make this a criminal case. I will do everything possible to make sure justice is served in this matter and that I am compensated for the damage that these false charges have caused to my reputation.”
