Joe Francis threatens to sue Gawker for calling him a ‘rapist’

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Last week Gawker crowned Girls Gone Wild honcho and all-around persecuted douche Joe Francis the “Douche of the Decade.” He was competing in a poll with a bunch of other douchey guys regularly profiled by Gawker who don’t have the high name recognition. Francis won by 32%, with blogger Tucker Max coming in a close second. (I didn’t know much about that guy Tucker Max, but after reading just one story on his blog I wish I could forget him. I hope his conquest stories are fabricated.)

In response to Gawker’s title, in which they called Francis a rapist as per this LA Times profile that reveals that he raped an 18 year-old girl, he fired off an error-filled e-mail to Gawker head Nick Denton promising to sue. Francis claimed he lost a “$10 million deal” as a result of the rapist charge and that “No one make up lies about me and gets away with it…. I am coming after you harder than I have ever went after anyone.”

Last night, Francis emailed a nastygram (with a prize inside!) to our vacationing overlord Nick Denton, myself, three attorneys (Cyrus J. Nownejad, Brad Brian, David P. Schack), and for good measure two media contacts: Mike Waters, the news manager at TMZ, and Richard Johnson, the editor of the New York Post’s Page Six. Francis is threatening to file lawsuit today over his Douche of the Decade award, claiming that he’s lost a $10 million contract because we used the word “rapist” in the bio accompanying the prize. (Last week, when Francis’ company lawyer Terry Yeom wrote his own letter, this mysterious lost bit of business only amounted to $4 million.)

[From Gawker]

What’s more is that Frances e-mailed a photo of himself shirtless to Denton, telling him at the end of the e-mail that “I sent you an updated photo of how I actually look now so you can masturbate to it because you seen to be quite sexually obsessed with me.” Oh Joe, you know just the right way to accept your title as “Douche of The Decade.” No one can touch you. The IRS can try, though. Don’t you have another legal battle to fight against the federal government for “illegally” seizing all your assets? Looking back at our earlier coverage, we called you a rapist too. Can I get a full frontal shot to help quench my obvious sexual obsession?

Header image is of Joe Francis on 6/3/09. Credit: Juan Rico/Fame Pictures. Image below from Gawker

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46 Responses to “Joe Francis threatens to sue Gawker for calling him a ‘rapist’”

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  1. Sudini says:

    He is just all kinds of wrong, inside and out.

    I’m proud to say that I voted for him as Douche of the Decade. 🙂

  2. diva says:

    He is just drawing more attention to the obvious, he seems more and more deranged as I read about him.

  3. Sudini says:

    It was a tough decision between Joe Douche and Tucker Max, btw. Tucker should definitely be neutered so that he can NEVER procreate.

  4. Snarf says:

    Gawker actually updated their story to “alledged rapist”.
    He’s still a skeevy douche though. Blah.

  5. Iggles says:

    Lol. I guess he worked out in prison.

    That aside, he looks so creepy when he smiles! His mouth is so wide and his teeth are obviously bleached. Ugh, he’s a male butterface.

    And yes, he IS the douche of the decade..

  6. Pont Neuf says:

    In that first photograph, is that Joe Francis or ‘The Joker’? Talk about an unappealing physical trait! God, is his mouth ugly.

    Anyhow, he should have also been named “Grammar Rapist of the Decade” thanks to his wonderfully written e-mail. And maybe, also “Psychopathic Narcissist of the Moment”, because he is obviously dangerous and insane.

    On a final note, the saddest part is that he is a millionaire thanks to the fact that he records drunk tarts behaving like trash, and sells the footage to equally grimy slimeballs.

    I get the feeling that all of his customers should have shared that “Douche of the Decade” title.

  7. javelin says:

    Stunted syntax and appalling grammar really detract from the intended force of his message. If he could control his narcissistic rage long enough to compose a comprehensive sentence or two people might be less likely to believe he is indeed a douche-bag rapist.

  8. Birdie says:

    Sue me Joe:

    You are a f*cking rapist. Everyone knows it. Go back to jail where you belong creep.

  9. Kayleigh says:

    I like how his email is CLEARLY “joe@girlsgonewild.com” GJ of blurring that out! XD

  10. Peach says:

    Rapist, rapist, rapist, dirty rapist, ugly rapist, raping rapist, full of rape, raping consistantly, 100% pure rapist, rapist, rapist, Sir Rapey McRaperson, raping rapist, Mr. Rapington, rapist, rapist, rapist.

    Sue me ya motherfucker. I dare you.

  11. Kaye says:

    In Joe Francis’ case, the nicest thing you can say about him is that he’s a rapist.

  12. Bete says:

    I think the attached image confirms that Francis is truly the douche of this decade and the next. He’s a poor man’s Hugh Hefner. A predator who preys on schoolgirls.

  13. BitterBetty says:

    LMFAO @ Peach

  14. diva says:

    @pont neuf calling the girls on the video drunk tarts is a bit too harsh. Many of them are underage and completely wasted courtesy of Joe Francis crew so the majority of them don’t even know that they have been filmed or recall the incident. The young girls are being victimized and taken advantage of by a predator, it is not their fault they are young and naive.

  15. Jo 'Mama' Besser says:

    How dare that website judge a book by its contents?

  16. danielle says:

    Tucker Max seems pretty heinous himself. I know some girls who like him, and I’m baffled. Not very bright girls, so maybe that explains it. Or maybe it’s low self-esteem.

  17. Kaboom says:

    The American Rapist Association may sue Gawker for associating them with disreputable individuals such as Joe Francis.

  18. Ruffian9 says:

    Peach. You Rock.

  19. KateNonymous says:

    I don’t know whether or not he’s a rapist, but he sure is disgusting.

  20. Ruffian9 says:

    He makes me stabbey.

  21. Betty says:

    That picture is the funniest thing I’ve seen on the web today. Thanks for the laugh.

  22. lucy2 says:

    Of course, his email only makes it all more legitimate, doesn’t it? If he truly wasn’t a rapist, a grammatically correct letter from an attorney would have sufficed nicely. But rambling profane nonsense sent via email certainly doesn’t get anyone on his side. And really, shouldn’t he be suing the LA Times instead, as the Gawker thing referenced that?
    He is extremely disgusting in every way possible, and I’m in agreement with GatsbyGirl’s sentiments.

  23. She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named says:

    Ha! Peach, Pont Neuf awesome!

    I followed the links to read the great article written by a journalist at the LA Times:

    http://www.latimes.com/features/printedition/magazine/la-tm-gonewild32aug06,0,5620406.story

    amazing description of a truly dangerous narcissistic psychopath, this man will commit murder eventually if he’s not stopped.

  24. pickelhaube says:

    Ooooh I cannot WAIT to see him get what’s coming….he’ll go on trial soon enough and since I live in Panama City/Bay County FL, I WILL be there to see him get nailed. He’s pure scum and I just wish I had seen him at a club or something, because I would have gotten up in his face and if he tried to hit me, my husband would have broken his face in. Ahh, fantasies are fun, but when he gets nailed here in PC, reality will be even better!

    And..he looks like an alligator mixed with a scary puppet. If i was half as hideous as he is, I’d probably be an insecure douchebag who preys on dumb little skanks to prove my “manhood” too. But it’s all beside the point because he just sets my gaydar off, so I think he’s compensating for being in the closet. Come and sue me, Joe…I called you a f*g so what are you gonna do? LOL!! (no offense to gay people)

  25. Katjia says:

    Bete – Take it back, take it back!

    Joe Francis is in a different GALAXY than Hugh Hefner. Hefner put together a magazine that combined classy, glamorous nude photography and quality journalistic/literary pieces from some of the great minds of his time. Sure, they may both make their living in “nude girls,” but Hefner has done plenty for society as well – He was a big proponent of civil rights, civil liberties, and he always seems to stand up for the underdog. (OK, yes, in “Girls Next Door” he seems kinda ridiculous, but the man’s like 90 years old. Who wouldn’t?)

    On the other hand, Joe Francis is just a rapist. 🙂

  26. ! says:

    lol@kaye

    Anyone feel like flooding EVERY story about this with the word “rapist” 100 times over? I’m thoroughly tempted.

  27. alguien says:

    mr. douchebag’s sexy shot looks suspiciously photoshopped.

  28. Helen says:

    Cocaine’s a helluva drug!

  29. realist says:

    Didn’t he mean to say “I’m coming after you harder than I went after that girl I raped?”

  30. piedlourde says:

    How many teeth does that man have?!

  31. Denise says:

    Brilliant retort. By Celebitchy, not Joe Douche. Obviously.

    When had his teeth done, did he ask for an extra 12?

  32. alecto says:

    most definately photoshopped

  33. GatsbyGal says:

    @ realist – haha, oh god I died laughing, thank you sir.

  34. raincoaster says:

    Pumped up like that, I bet that rapist was REAL popular in the Big House.

  35. Liza says:

    Look Mr. Joe Francis, you are a “rapist” of souls. I don’t doubt that you have taken advantage of an overly intoxicated female and that too is a kind of rape. Maybe you should try necrophilia because your victims won’t talk about how bad it was… my friend said you were the worst f*#@ she ever had.

  36. juliana says:

    @ She-who-must-not-be-named, thank you for the link.

    I used to think this goob was nothing more than an oversexed frat boy with a
    little more brains than most.

    The LA Times story makes me think he is the next OJ Simpson.

  37. nanana says:

    Why can I see so many of his teeth? It is seriously freaking me out…and it looks like there are even more further in…he’s like a flabby shark…

  38. Michelle says:

    Joe Francis truly deserves the title “Douche of the Decade”.

  39. Newyorking says:

    Lol @ Peach – you are awesome!
    What a douche! She-who-must-not-be-named, thanks for the link. I could not go beyond page 1 — who is this loser who is making so much money, and who are these women in his videos? Such a bunch of losers.

  40. oh hey says:

    Team Gawker…all the way!

    “100% pure rapist” need to be the next Ed Hardy t-shirt.

  41. BitterBetty says:

    I just realized he looks like a shark. how appropriate.

  42. MOOMOOMOOMOO says:

    Why don’t he and Paris Hilton just get married and accidentally leak a series of revolting porn videos already?

    & holy crap look at them gnashers! D: *ahhhhhhh*

  43. Bete says:

    Katjia, I’m not insulting Hefner, just that Francis thinks he is something similar. Have you checked out his egomaniacal personal website? It’s quite vomit worthy. He does try to paint himself like Hugh.

  44. Neelyo says:

    That torso shot looks like the worst cut and paste job ever.

  45. TaylorB says:

    Peach…

    Thank you, I needed that. 🙂

  46. bobby says:

    y’all are sooooo J. Joe da MAN. and he is crazy rich cuz we love him. HE tapped into the Zeitgeist of the best of times and made us happy. God Bless America!