Updated: Girls Gone Wild creator ordered to jail

Posted by Lindsay Beyerstein at 7:28 AM on April 9, 2007.

The creator of the Girls Gone Wild video series, Joe Francis, has been sentenced to jail for contempt of court because he threatened women trying to sue him:

Los Angeles -- The millionaire creator of the Girls Gone Wild video series has been ordered to jail in connection with a lawsuit alleging that his film crews pressured girls to appear in sexually explicit situations, reports said Friday. US District Court Judge Richard Smoak issued the order following the breakdown of court-ordered mediation between Francis and lawyers for the seven plaintiffs, who claimed that Francis had threatened them during the negotiations and hurled obscenities at them.

Smoak ruled that Francis' behaviour had placed him in contempt of court. A lawyer for Francis has appealed the jail order while Francis himself risks a further contempt judgment with his withering comments about the judge.

"This judge has gone as far as to call me the devil and an evildoer," Francis said. "It is a case of a judge gone wild." [DPA]

More details here.

Francis has a history of erratic and aggressive behavior. Back in August, LA Times writer Claire Hoffman alleged that Joe Francis attacked her while she was reporting on him for the paper.

Update: Looks like Francis is in meta-contempt of court for refusing to show up to start serving his initial contempt sentence.

Update 2: "Girls Gone Wild creator Joe Francis was arrested Tuesday in Florida, PEOPLE has confirmed..." More.

Lindsay Beyerstein a New York writer blogging at Majikthise.