Sex & Journalism

People buy "love" all the time, but between this former Goldman Sachs suicidal banker buying a former Slovakian escort away from her husband, the escorts 67 year old husband wanting to not grant his 28 year old wife a divorce after she admittedly left him for the better financial offer, and either one of these men thinking that this woman is worth calling a wife, this is no good deal.  Perhaps the boys should have tea together and compare notes about what it's like to be lied to and used while they discuss what designer bag their uninterested wife is buying with their money now and who is going to come along with a higher bid to buy her away from them both.  Good times for all!

Sach It According To The Telegraph

As for my (still happily unmarried) life, I've been in transition, jumping states and continents and am currently in NYC before heading back permanently to the other side of the pond.  I've been weighed down for some time now because I have stories to tell, questions to pose and thought to share, but am afraid now to put any of these into text.  It turns out that I just continue to sabbotaged my own ability to say too much here.  Until I figure out how to gracefully handle this dilemma, I'm going to have to keep things focused on the lives of those in the media.  It's a shame really, I'd like to talk about both.  Not being able to tell my own stories without worrying who is going to become hurt by them takes half the fun of blogging away.  Ahh ... Secret lives and figuring out how to make them work ... Harumph!

 Roqs

Tuesday, May 6th, 2008  3:15pm Pacific

The Feds are at it again. I am unsure of what this sudden heightened interest in high-end prostitution rings is, but in the interest of my book, I’m glad it’s still a hot topic.

The most recent Hollywood madam,  “Nicci” aka Michelle Braun,  is in legal trouble for a second time. She was busted with niccisgirls.com several years ago, which, ironically, was the site that first sparked my interest in high end escorting. Now, she has been busted with her new site, one that I discovered the last time I was in NY, bellamodels.com. She boasts the largest selection of models and starlets, and she does have quite the collection of skanky, air headed models and pseudo celebrities…even, as some articles have stated, Paris Hilton.  But the main escort in the news is Ashley Massaro, the hot but nothing near classy WWE “wrestler” that I’ve actually had the pleasure of meeting (and massaging) in person.  According to the posts on her blog, Ashley is pretending to not know what’s going on and why she has been accused of working as an escort. I’ve learned this is natural. Pretend to not understand, then confess and write a book. I’m sure she’ll come around once the shock of getting caught and shame of public exposure is gone.  Besides having been on her end of thing, and knowing first hand what emotions and shock she’s experiencing, I knew a guy from the club that I danced at in Manhattan who told me stories about how he used to “date” her. He had no reason to lie to me. There is a certain safety in making confessions to a stranger. He told me details about her that I knew to be true, and expressed to me that she was receiving a certain gain from going out with him. Her reward was generous, and it wasn’t the reward of his exquisite company. It became clear to me then, over a year ago, what her side business was. I thought nothing of it at the time. Dating for money is abundant, and is no foreign concept to dancers. And now that she has been exposed, it fits perfectly with his story. Is Ashley an escort? It wouldn’t surprise me.

It continues to disturb me that this is even an issue. There is still REAL crime out there and I don’t understand why it’s not being focused on instead of this. Perhaps the feds are just bored and horny these days, but is it really necessary to destroy people’s lives who have done nothing but made boatloads of money doing things that consenting adults do? Really? My theory is that anyone with a government job must be envious of the glamour and ease that money comes to certain people. Shit, if they’re miserable, then they should make everyone else miserable too, right? Christ. To go after girls with side jobs and the business people who run the agencies is really a waste of time and taxpayers dollars. It’s embarrassing, really. Perhaps one day, some true crime will be fought.

I read some of the comments people online were making about the bust. It seems that some people are in denial that Playboy models and television personalities…and heiresses…would entertain gentlemen for money. This blows me away.  People are apparently deluded by the idea that a girl who appears to have a career wouldn’t do something “as low as” sell herself. I have two problems with this:

First, I am unsure of how someone would think that posing for Playboy is something that means a girl is successful or has a career. Playboy, with anyone who is informed, is notoriously cheap. Their models hardly make anything at all. Their cover girls, centerfolds and Playmates of the month make a decent amount of money, but it is certainly not enough to live off of.  Having been on the cover of many magazines myself, having been a minor scale television personality for several years, and having several friends who are also in the business, I can speak from experience and first hand observation.  The appearance of fame and success is just that, an appearance. Hollywood is all an illusion. A models/actress/whatever’s level of success is determined by the fan’s imagination. Even is Ashley was given a $250,000 contract with the WWE, $250,000 doesn’t get you much in NY, where she lives. It couldn’t even buy you a studio apartment. It may buy you the closet in a studio…

I’m unsure why people think that models wouldn’t have sex for money. As models, that’s exactly what they’re doing. They’re selling their sexuality for money. They get paid to provide a fantasy. They are prime candidates for escorts. Women who look good, don’t have a steady income or real job, and who have experience selling their sexuality. These are ideal escorts. Playboy models are probably the most inclined to do something, as, anyone who has worked on the inside knows exactly what girls do to get Playmate position. They’re getting in a few positions before they get picked to be Playmates, most of them dirty and requiring a lack of clothing and a willingness to…ahem…succeed, shall we say? Seriously, do people really think that Hef hires these girls for their personalities…their poise and grace and classic beauty? That’s a comical thought.

Secondarily, I cannot figure out what makes escorting “stooping”. To me, stooping to a low level is to over inflate and over inject, over tan and over bleach your hair to the point where you look like a ridiculous blow up tart, just to appease those who try convince you that this look is somehow attractive and in.  Stooping to a low level is hurting someone to get ahead or disrespecting yourself. Stooping is disrespecting yourself and others. Stooping is not taking responsibility for your actions. Stooping is allowing somebody else to suffer for your bad decisions. But doing something that doesn’t hurt anyone, that fulfills some need or fantasy, and that sends you home with the kind of money you need to get ahead in life, is not stooping. I want to know who has brainwashed these people into having such quick judgments and ill thought opinions. I would state that I can’t wait for the day when people start really thinking about what they say before they say it, but I know that’s an impracticable illusion.

Regardless, I feel bad for the women caught in the drama of Michelle’s second bust. It’s unfortunate for them that there was no discretion at all concerning the press of this ring and those involved. It’s more unfortunate that Michelle has distastefully decided to name names and dish the detailed dirt for the world to hear. What a disgrace. Even those of us who have worked in this profession who have written books and published articles about our rendezvous, have not disclosed such personal information as she has and as she will continue to do for the public. While incredibly successful, she seems to be an equally unprofessional madam, and a tacky one at that. She loves publicity, has no problem telling the details of what any concerned professional would know is strictly confidential, she has a coke problem, insecurity that is apparent in her ludicrous amounts of aesthetic procedures, and is raising two children in the midst of all this. I don’t know if she was a nice girl. She very well could have been a doll. I never met her, so I can’t say. What I can say, though, is that I’m glad I didn’t meet her. There is a sense of security knowing that if I am going to be exposed to the public, it’s going to be through my own doing. If I am going to be in a book, it’s going to be my own. I like to know that I control my destiny. The power is in my own hands, not some cheesy women with poor judgment. Thank God for that.  

If there was ever any thought I had about finding another service to work with, there certainly isn’t now. These busts are too hot and I’m sure there will be more to come in the near future. I can think of a few off the top of my head that are likely to be exposed due to their marketing to high-end clients. I’m just waiting for their names to pop up in the papers.

In the meantime, I’ve got to find a way to keep updated with the results of Michael’s trial. I want to know what is going to become of him and the rest of the E Club. Maybe this is a question for my lawyer? I’m wondering if I should get rid of the girls phone numbers, just in case I become tempted to try to call them one day. It’s no secret that my curiosity has a propensity to get me in trouble.

Raquel