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Girls Gone Wild creator Joe Francis says despite having a bad boy reputation and a string of legal troubles, he’s just misunderstood.
During a photo shoot for The Hollywood Reporter, Francis explains that when he was younger, he ignored bad press by not justifying it with a response. But when the Internet came along, he realized that was a mistake.
“They can call you a rapist. They can call you anything. If you don’t defend it, it’s always there. It just builds and builds and builds,” Francis says. “By the time I realized that, it was too late. It was too late to go ‘Wait. That wasn’t true. I’m really a nice guy.'”
PHOTOS: Tax Evader and Accused Jailbaiter: Inside Joe Francis’ Criminal Charges
Francis posed for THR‘s cameras one day after he was found guilty on three counts of false imprisonment and one count of assault likely to cause great bodily injury. He denied his guilt.
“Wealthy people don’t kidnap people and bring them to a party,” he says. “Just because a jury is mentally retarded and jealous of who I am, that jury — you should be put in jail, you stupid idiots.”
The mogul also said the general public knows him for Girls Gone Wild but may not realize he is also involved in more “mainstream” companies, including PerfectSkin.
“There’s a complete disconnect” he says of his public reputation and his true self. “My friends and people in the industry, and people I know — they know what I’m involved in. They know who I am.”
Watch the video above, and read THR‘s profile of Francis here.
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