You can't really blame those absurd million dollar pictorial offers made to Hollywood starlets as the reason Playboy's balance sheet is stained red. It's not like Miley Cyrus & Co. actually take them seriously.
But Playboy's parent, Playboy Enterprises, saw a loss of $3.1 million on revenue of $87.5 million in Q1 of this year; in Q1 of last year, Playboy earned $1.4 million on revenue of $85.4 million. The print magazine is blamed for much of the downturn, but only 20 percent of the company's overall dollars come from advertising. [NYT]
So blame XTube, PornoTube, and all the rest of the free porn video sites that are stealing Playboy's niche. Always the first to conquer an industry, porn is now seeing the premium digital space it carved out for itself taken over by free offerings, though CEO Christie Hefner refutes that explanation: "There isn’t anything different about the fact that people can access explicit sexual content on the Internet because they could access it in other forms before." Adds the Times: "She noted that Penthouse and Hustler were introduced in the 1970s; that explicit videos became available in the late 1980s, fueling the sales of VCRs; and the advent of satellite television in the early ’90s gave people still another option for spicy movies 'in the privacy of your home.'"
All true, but none of them were free.
So what's a scantily clad girl to do?
Take a look at what competitor Penthouse is doing. That magazine is finding success in Christian dating sites. CONTINUED »
Hugh Hefner generously announced today that naked Miley Cyrus would be nakedly "welcomed in [his] magazine" full of naked ladies—when she's of age, of course. [Us] This isn't the first time that the doddering coot, or his kin, pulled such a stunt, knowing full well the offer would get a write up in the gossip columns, but that the starlets would never agree. Below, a look back at some of the million dollar deals, made by creepy old men, and Joe Francis, that never were. CONTINUED »
This video from Inside Edition shows how an Inside Edition anchor hides from his Girls Gone Wild subscription by producing a segment about the nefarious porn company which keeps sending him DVDs he totally didn't request. [BWE] It kind of makes you wonder: Why didn't The Insider's Pat O'Brien blame his alcoholism on a beer company that refused to stop sending him free cases?
Jimi Hendrix joins the lengthy list of celebrities with sex tapes on the market. And the good folks at Vivid Entertainment have even posted a trailer of the tape (perhaps NSFW), which includes testimonials from women who have slept with him verifying that the penis you see in the video belongs to the rock legend. In this era of questionable authenticity, we appreciate the extra effort.
Porn producer Michael Lucas apparently had a run in with the law last month: "A resident of 244 W. 23rd St., Michael Lucas, 36, was arrested on Sat., March 15, after a neighbor told police the defendant slapped and scratched him. Witnesses said Lucas broke several items in one of the apartments of the building and cut himself on the arm by the time police arrived."
If imitation is the highest form of flattery, what does that make plagiarism? We don’t know, but Michael Lucas probably does, because his Barack Obama bashing column has more than a few similarities with Ann Coulter’s “Throw Grandma Under A Bus,” which she published on March 19, two days before Lucas’ piece.
How did Joe Francis score his release from jail over child abuse charges stemming from his alleged "adult" filming of two 17-year-old girls? By exposing Florida state attorney Steve Meadows showing child porn to ABC's Nightline, he claims.
Meadows, who was running as much of a media blitz as Francis and his attorney Roy Black, was all too pleased to publicize his drawn-out capture of the Girls Gone Wild chief.
Which is why, when Nightline's Martin Bashir (of Michael Jackson fame) came calling, Meadows had the tapes ready to show off. That was a mistake: If the footage of the 17-year-old girls was enough to get Francis to plead to a felony count (but not register as a sex offender) then it's enough to make exhibiting the tape for TV news types just as illegal. (So the story goes, only law enforcement authorities can view child porn, and only under the auspices of an investigation. Remember Kurt Eichenwald?)
For his part, Francis denies ever seeing the tape.
Though the obviously-bias Martin refused to testify against Meadows, invoking privilege, as to whether the attorney showed him the tape, the clip below shows the Nightline anchor has a thorough understanding of exactly what's on the tape, including the size of the girls' breasts. CONTINUED »
Is posting a nip slip of Disney cash machine (and 15-year-old) Miley Cyrus technically child porn? Maybe, which is why we're sort of grossed out about linking to the blog showcasing it. So we won't.
Let’s say you worked at a paper that had gone through four senior editors in three years and the general state of journalism was like your toilet after a big cup of coffee. And let’s say you lived in Los Angeles. And how about we quit the hypotheticals and say you work for the L.A. Times?
Well, then Jim O’Shea’s departure couldn’t have felt good. Because when he was ousted, he either was supremely bitter or incredibly honest—or maybe a little bit of both—and basically said the whole Times operation was crap. You’re probably interested in another job, but resigned to the fact that finding a new position at a paper on par with the L.A. Times is next to impossible.
But fear not, Sam Zell, owner of the Tribune Co., came in to make everyone feel better by talking smack on O’Shea, saying "[O'Shea] pissed all over the company where he worked for over 30 years.” But lest any reporters would take issue, Zell won them over by encouraging porn watching at work as long as masturbating and sexual harassment didn't get in the way of deadlines.
What a kidder. But seriously, your jobs are not secure.
Coutorture founder Julie Fredrickson, who shot to Internet notoriety for this unscheduled Anna Wintour interview, sold her fashion blog network to PopSugar.com publisher Sugar Inc. back in October. The dollar figure that was paid to Fredrickson, who remains with the company, wasn't disclosed. But it couldn't have been that much — since she seems to be trafficking in hidden porn links on her personal blog. CONTINUED »
Marc Jacobs is having a big week. First, he's showing his fall collection on Friday, so, ooooh!. (Try getting into that one.) Second, he's rumored to be taking public, at the show, his three-way romance – bear with us – with long-time boyfriend Jason Preston and porn star Erik Rhodes. (Rhodes says they're not dating, but he will be attending the show. As a friend. And Friday just happens to be his 26th birthday.)
And third, well, is that little matter of extortion.
In order to use the 69th Regiment Armory, on 26th Street, to show each season, Jacobs allegedly had to pay off the armory's superintendent, James Jackson, some $40,000 in cash and gifts, including a Bowflex machine. In return, Jackson, who was arraigned on extortion charges yesterday, assured Jacobs the date he needed, early access to the venue, and a breezy paperwork process.
Now New York attorney general Andrew Cuomo is on the case, upset that anyone would ever feel required to pay off a public official to use public space.
Other designers, meanwhile, aren't exactly empathizing with Jacobs. While his payments may have been forced, they may have also secured him exclusive access to the armory during Fashion Week, preventing any other designers from showing there. That doesn't really elicit sympathy.
TOP GLADIATOR Ex-gay porn star and American Gladiators at large Militia nabbed an endorsement deal with
HeadBlade razors. As a former actor in the physical arts, Miltia knows a lot about shaving. [Queerty]
When you treat girls like shit, men are sure to notice. And gay porn mogul Michael Lucas has taken notice of Hills villain, and homeless outreacher, Spencer Pratt.
“He was born to be in a gay-porn blockbuster," Lucas tells In Touch. "Lucas Entertainment would do anything to be able to center our next major all-male production on Spencer Pratt."
And we would do anything to see it. With Blonde Ambition already taken (and bombed), how about I Became Famous Through Manipulating Women And Now I’m Starring In Gay Porn?
[Photo Credit: WireImage]
American Gladiator Militia used to go by another pseudonym: Elian Cortez. As Cortez, Militia (real name: Alex Castro) was a well-endowed (11"!) and well-compensated gay porn model for Colt. To be fair, with a body like that, there are only so many career options.
[Queerty]
• Is crazypants pop star Britney Spears more likable than Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas? Possibly! says this disturbing article in the New Republic.
• Will Smith proves that Phili natives with negligible rapping skills can make their way onto the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
• Jennifer Lopez reminds us all that while money can't buy love, it can buy you the experience of watching your newborn baby poop all over an elegant cashmere onesie.
• Crisis! The days of free porn might be numbered! Related: You utter a disingenuous sigh of disgust and then totally click this link as soon as your boss isn't looking.
Editorial Director
