WEBVTT - 4: Pay for Play

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<v Speaker 1>Novel.

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<v Speaker 2>Hey listeners, this is Ellie Flynn. Before we get started,

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<v Speaker 2>I just wanted to let you know that this episode

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<v Speaker 2>contains references to alleged sexual abuse. It's also a story

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<v Speaker 2>of female empowerment and camaraderie thanks to the women who

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<v Speaker 2>have shared their stories with us. We contacted the photographer

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<v Speaker 2>mentioned in this podcast multiple times for comment, but we

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<v Speaker 2>never heard back. He has not been charged with any

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<v Speaker 2>crimes and is presumed innocent under the law. We also

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<v Speaker 2>contacted Playboy USA. They state that they have asked their

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<v Speaker 2>licensees to blacklist the photographer mentioned in this series and

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<v Speaker 2>that they prohibit pay to play, which you'll hear more

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<v Speaker 2>about later in this episode. Our research into his association

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<v Speaker 2>to Playboy and their statement will also be detailed in

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<v Speaker 2>this episode. Oh and one more thing. Some of the

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<v Speaker 2>voice notes you'll hear in this episode of all by actors.

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<v Speaker 2>If I was to ask you where in the world

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<v Speaker 2>might a playmate live, your answer probably wouldn't be in

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<v Speaker 2>a nondescript house on a quiet road in rural England.

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<v Speaker 2>But that's just where me and my producer Eleanor have come.

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<v Speaker 2>Outside the window, muddy fields stretch out as far as

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<v Speaker 2>the eye can see hello, how are you doing? Nice

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<v Speaker 2>to see in the hallway kids Wellington boots, footballs and

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<v Speaker 2>skateboards are stacked haphazardly. And in the living room lucky

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<v Speaker 2>cats here. Yes, do you know what?

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<v Speaker 3>He's not normally in here? He's very already come to here.

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<v Speaker 3>I think you've got the charm.

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<v Speaker 2>So much. What's his name again? Frank? Me and Eleanor

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<v Speaker 2>haven't come here to meet Frank. Okay, okay, we haven't

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<v Speaker 2>just come here to meet Frank. We're also here to

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<v Speaker 2>meet Fiona Hollingsworth.

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<v Speaker 1>I have been in the modern ing industry nearly all

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<v Speaker 1>my life, to be honest, gosh, we're probably talking twenty years.

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<v Speaker 2>Fiona was in her late thirties when she met Luis

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<v Speaker 2>Gomez during his twenty twenty UK tour. She's one of

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<v Speaker 2>the few models we've spoken to who hasn't accused Louise

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<v Speaker 2>of sexual misconduct. But I still find her story really upsetting.

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<v Speaker 2>Luise gave Fiona his usual spiel. He could make her

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<v Speaker 2>a star. He could get her in Playboy. He could

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<v Speaker 2>even get her the most coveted title in Glamour.

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<v Speaker 1>He said, for five thousand pounds, I could be the

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<v Speaker 1>Playboy playmate.

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<v Speaker 2>We've heard of Luise charging for photo shoots before from

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<v Speaker 2>people like her, but charging someone to become a playboy playmate,

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<v Speaker 2>that's new to us. But Fiona didn't bat an eyelid.

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<v Speaker 1>In this industry, you have to put your money into

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<v Speaker 1>it in order to get the money back. So you know,

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<v Speaker 1>that could have helped me hugely in the future.

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<v Speaker 2>Fionna's a single mum with four kids. Times were tough.

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<v Speaker 1>That was like, oh, you know, I'm really tight for money.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not sure if I can.

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<v Speaker 2>But she knew this opportunity wouldn't come knocking again, so

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<v Speaker 2>she borrowed the money. Fiona understood from Luis that all

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<v Speaker 2>she needed to become a playmate was an official certificate

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<v Speaker 2>showing that she'd been published, but when it arrived in

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<v Speaker 2>the post, it didn't quite live up to expectations.

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<v Speaker 1>It's like a poster basically, so it's not actually a certificate.

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<v Speaker 1>I think it just says Fiona Hollingsworth Playboy playmate, photographer,

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<v Speaker 1>et cetera.

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<v Speaker 2>Et cetera. Fiona shows me her playmate certificate. It's a

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<v Speaker 2>page of shiny photo paper with a picture of Fiona

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<v Speaker 2>and the famous playboy Bunny logo. Fiona's topless, looking sultraally

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<v Speaker 2>into the camera. She looks great, but overall the edit's bad.

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<v Speaker 2>The design doesn't even cover a full page, and it's

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<v Speaker 2>got tacky white borders on the edges. What's more, the

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<v Speaker 2>photo shoot appears to have been done in a kitchen

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<v Speaker 2>and not Kim Kardashian's. You can see a silver toaster

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<v Speaker 2>and tupperware boxes in the background, and the scenery is

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<v Speaker 2>not the only issue. Luise has censored Fiona's nipples with

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<v Speaker 2>white circles, which seemed to glow. It's supposed to be

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<v Speaker 2>the document that makes Fiona an official playmate, but even

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<v Speaker 2>with Playmate Fiona superimposed in big letters, this feels about

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<v Speaker 2>as far from Playboy's centerfold as it's possible to imagine.

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<v Speaker 2>But Luis has published so many models in Playboy, so

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<v Speaker 2>it must be legit, right, So Fiona went to Instagram

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<v Speaker 2>to try and get herself verified. It's partly why she

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<v Speaker 2>invested in becoming a playmate, because a blue tick next

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<v Speaker 2>to her name would open up a new world of

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<v Speaker 2>professional opportunities.

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<v Speaker 1>Lewis has been saying to me, Yeah, if you just

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<v Speaker 1>hand those over to Instagram, that is enough to get

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<v Speaker 1>you verified.

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<v Speaker 2>This was before you could pay to be verified. Fiona

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<v Speaker 2>sent a picture of her Playmate certificate to Instagram, expecting

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<v Speaker 2>her account to get a blue tick, but Instagram never

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<v Speaker 2>got back to her. She sent it again and again,

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<v Speaker 2>still nothing.

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<v Speaker 1>I have tried. It must have been about four times

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<v Speaker 1>and I have still not become verified. I don't know

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<v Speaker 1>whether it's because I don't have a lot of followers.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know.

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<v Speaker 2>And then a friend of hers got in touch.

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<v Speaker 1>She was saying that she heard that Playboy has actually finished.

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<v Speaker 1>They're not actually published anymore. He's not really working for them.

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<v Speaker 1>I was just like, oh my gosh.

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<v Speaker 2>If Luis isn't working for Playboy, then what the hell

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<v Speaker 2>did Fiona pay five grand for?

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<v Speaker 1>I would love to know the answers. This must be

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<v Speaker 1>one of the biggest scams out there today.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm Ellie Flynn and from the team at Novel. This

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<v Speaker 2>is the Bunny Trap, Episode four, Pay for Play. Along

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<v Speaker 2>with the certificate, fi owner was sent a copy of

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<v Speaker 2>the Playboy magazine she was published in back home. I

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<v Speaker 2>take a closer look at it with my producer Eleanor.

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<v Speaker 2>It's my first time seeing one of Luisa's Playboy magazines

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<v Speaker 2>in real life. Okay, this is Playboy Portugal. So on surface,

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<v Speaker 2>at the jit it looks like other Playboy magazines that

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<v Speaker 2>I've seen in the past. I mean, one thing that

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<v Speaker 2>seems like slightly orders, how thin it is it's only

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<v Speaker 2>twenty pages long. And another red flag. I think it's

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<v Speaker 2>strange that there there's no articles in here. It's just photos.

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<v Speaker 2>The pages are stapled together rather than professionally bound. It's

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<v Speaker 2>all matt whereas I usually would expect a magazine to

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<v Speaker 2>be glossy, and there's no centerfold. Fiona isn't in the

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<v Speaker 2>centerfold as a playmate normally would be. Instead, she's actually

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<v Speaker 2>near the end of the magazine. It says playmate next

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<v Speaker 2>to Fiona. So maybe that's what makes her a playmate.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't know, there's something there's something not quite right

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<v Speaker 2>about this. I take another look at Fiona's playmate certificate.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't think that this piece of paper that I'm

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<v Speaker 2>looking at is any kind of actual certification that she's

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<v Speaker 2>a playmate. It doesn't look like it's come from Playboy,

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<v Speaker 2>and she paid five thousand pounds for this. Oh my

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<v Speaker 2>god's so sad. Until now I'd thought I was investigating

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<v Speaker 2>awful allegations of sexual abuse against a Playboy photographer. There

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<v Speaker 2>were loads of things I was questioning when it came

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<v Speaker 2>to Luise's legitimacy, but in all honesty, his connection to

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<v Speaker 2>Playboy wasn't one of them. Because Luis looks legit online.

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<v Speaker 2>He's shooting big time glamor models around the world, hosting

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<v Speaker 2>his Playboy publications on social media, and being credited as

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<v Speaker 2>a photographer from what appears to be Playboy accounts. So

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<v Speaker 2>what the fuck is going on here? What's the deal

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<v Speaker 2>with his connection to Playboy? It's time for a quick

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<v Speaker 2>history lesson. Playboy was founded in nineteen fifty three. It

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<v Speaker 2>became the world's most famous men's magazine, and it's like

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<v Speaker 2>the conic bunny logo was heralded as part of the

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<v Speaker 2>sexual revolution. The magazine became the staff of legend, as

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<v Speaker 2>did the antics of its founder, Hugh Hefner. His harem

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<v Speaker 2>with much younger girlfriends and alleged drug fueled orgies at

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<v Speaker 2>his Playboy mansion made the brand notorious for decades. Playboy

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<v Speaker 2>magazine shifted millions of copies every month, but it was

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<v Speaker 2>slow off the mark to adapt to the digital age.

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<v Speaker 2>By the early two thousands, the print industry was dying

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<v Speaker 2>and Playboy was in decline.

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<v Speaker 1>High speed internet porn allows you to essentially be on

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<v Speaker 1>there twenty four hours a day.

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<v Speaker 2>And you can just click online. Porn pretty much obliterated

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<v Speaker 2>the demand for traditional men's mags. People didn't need Playboy

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<v Speaker 2>to get off anymore, and the original audience for the

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<v Speaker 2>magazine was literally dying off. Playboy needed to reinvent itself.

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<v Speaker 2>Funny and playmids remain, but Playboy rebuilds its brand. In

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<v Speaker 2>the twenty tens, Playboy went through an identity cris editors

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<v Speaker 2>banned nudity.

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<v Speaker 4>There will be a Playmate of the Month, but the

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<v Speaker 4>poses will be more PG.

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<v Speaker 2>Thirteen. Unsurprisingly, that didn't work, so they unbanned it. And

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<v Speaker 2>then in twenty seventeen.

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<v Speaker 3>We have some breaking news for you tonight. Playboy founder

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<v Speaker 3>Hugh Hefner has died at the age of ninety one.

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<v Speaker 2>Without its founder, Playboy was lost. By twenty eighteen, circulation

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<v Speaker 2>of the magazine had fallen to roughly two hundred and

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<v Speaker 2>ten thousand copies a month, down from three point one

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<v Speaker 2>million in two thousand. Playboy USA decided to cut its

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<v Speaker 2>losses and go fully online. And its final magazine was

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<v Speaker 2>printed in March twenty twenty, and yet Luis published Figona

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<v Speaker 2>in several Playboy magazines in summer twenty twenty, months after

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<v Speaker 2>the magazine shut down. How's that happened? The answer is

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<v Speaker 2>complicated because Luis wasn't shooting for Playboy USA, the magazine

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<v Speaker 2>most of us are sociate with the brand. We haven't

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<v Speaker 2>found any evidence of any of Luisa's photos ever appearing

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<v Speaker 2>in that magazine. Instead, Luis's shooting for international editions of Playboy.

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<v Speaker 1>I've been in like three of them now. I've been

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<v Speaker 1>in Playboy Spain, Playboy Croatia, and Playboy Portugal.

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<v Speaker 2>And it wasn't just Fiona, what Playboy were you? Published

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<v Speaker 2>in Playboy Portugal Portugal? I was in the Portugal mag

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<v Speaker 2>International playboys are sold like franchises and operate independently to

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<v Speaker 2>Playboy USA. Playboy USA has been selling international licenses to

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<v Speaker 2>external publishers for decades. As far back as the seventies,

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<v Speaker 2>there have been global editions of Playboy magazine. In the

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<v Speaker 2>early noughties, there were around twenty international editions in circulation.

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<v Speaker 2>All of them were ruled with an iron fist by

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<v Speaker 2>Hugh Hefler. A former director of Playboy's international magazines depart

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<v Speaker 2>told me no photograph or article was published in any

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<v Speaker 2>language without HEF's approval, and if any international publisher violated

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<v Speaker 2>Playboy's strict editorial standards, they could lose their license. One

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<v Speaker 2>global edition got pulled in twenty ten for publishing a

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<v Speaker 2>pornographic Jesus Christ as their cover star. But our new

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<v Speaker 2>CEO changed all of that. The CEO has radically changed

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<v Speaker 2>the company.

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<v Speaker 1>He's outsourced everything he could outsource and has really focused

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<v Speaker 1>on making Playboy a licensing business.

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<v Speaker 2>A licensing business aka monetizing Playboy's famous bunny logo for

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<v Speaker 2>cold hard cash. Any Tom, Dick or Harry with enough

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<v Speaker 2>money could buy a Playboy license for anything, water bottles,

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<v Speaker 2>air fresheners, or international magazines. Some of these magazines do

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<v Speaker 2>seem legit with actual editorial teams, but Playboy HQ no

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<v Speaker 2>longer vet the teams or have editors or oversight, which

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<v Speaker 2>means that basically anyone suddenly gets access to the biggest

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<v Speaker 2>glamour brand in the world. This is how people like

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<v Speaker 2>Luis Gomez become so called Playboy photographers. Believe me, it's

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<v Speaker 2>really hard to understand the difference between Playboy US and

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<v Speaker 2>these international franchises. So imagine being an up and coming

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<v Speaker 2>model just entering the industry and trying to work this

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<v Speaker 2>stuff out.

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<v Speaker 5>I don't know if enough people realize how that business

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<v Speaker 5>model works anymore. There's a very big difference between Playboy USA,

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<v Speaker 5>which is the flagship brand, and other franchises around the world.

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<v Speaker 2>That's Nino Batista. He's the photography instructor who first met

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<v Speaker 2>Luis in twenty fifteen and a longtime industry insider.

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<v Speaker 5>If you shot for Playboy in nineteen ninety seven, then

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<v Speaker 5>almost certainly you were commissioned and or employed by Playboy

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<v Speaker 5>and it was a big, big deal. That business model

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<v Speaker 5>has changed radically. Most of the international Playboy franchises work

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<v Speaker 5>very differently than that.

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<v Speaker 2>Armed with my new knowledge about in national Playboy magazines,

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<v Speaker 2>I take another look at FI owners and something strikes me.

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<v Speaker 2>It's got no barcode. So that's odd because you wouldn't

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<v Speaker 2>be able to scan it in a shop. And my

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<v Speaker 2>producer Eleanor investigates why.

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<v Speaker 6>Playboy Portugal it is not available to buy the UK,

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<v Speaker 6>is not available to buy anywhere. In order to get

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<v Speaker 6>a copy of the magazine, you need to buy it

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<v Speaker 6>off a site called Magster.

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<v Speaker 2>Magster is like an online newsagent that stocks everything. They've

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<v Speaker 2>got time. They've got The Guardian, Evening, Standard, Daily Style,

0:14:35.000 --> 0:14:39.640
<v Speaker 2>Daily Express. Yeah, that looks legit. Men's Magazine too.

0:14:39.520 --> 0:14:39.880
<v Speaker 1>We go.

0:14:41.240 --> 0:14:46.360
<v Speaker 2>They also sell Luis's own homemade magazines and multiple editions

0:14:46.360 --> 0:14:49.640
<v Speaker 2>of international playboys that he's shot for. Many of these

0:14:49.640 --> 0:14:54.440
<v Speaker 2>playboys share a publisher, and it's not Playboy Enterprises Untapped

0:14:54.480 --> 0:14:58.840
<v Speaker 2>World Publishing. They seem to be the biggest publisher in

0:14:58.880 --> 0:15:03.200
<v Speaker 2>this space, Untapped World Publishing. I hadn't heard of them,

0:15:03.320 --> 0:15:05.640
<v Speaker 2>but it looks like Luis has shot with them for years.

0:15:06.720 --> 0:15:09.480
<v Speaker 2>This private company based in South Africa seems to be

0:15:09.600 --> 0:15:14.880
<v Speaker 2>leading the international playboy publication market. Oh my god. They

0:15:15.000 --> 0:15:20.400
<v Speaker 2>published so many international editions. So we've got Playboy Australia,

0:15:20.520 --> 0:15:27.040
<v Speaker 2>Playboy South Africa, Playboy Africa, Playboy Sweden, Playboy Denmark, Playboy Finland,

0:15:27.040 --> 0:15:30.960
<v Speaker 2>Playboy Norway, Playboy New Zealand. When my assistant producer, Amalia

0:15:31.040 --> 0:15:33.200
<v Speaker 2>looks into it, things get weird.

0:15:34.640 --> 0:15:39.960
<v Speaker 7>Something is off, no website, the number is defunct. I've

0:15:40.040 --> 0:15:44.440
<v Speaker 7>emailed all the people that I've found associated and only

0:15:44.520 --> 0:15:47.680
<v Speaker 7>one got back to me. And she thought that the

0:15:47.720 --> 0:15:49.000
<v Speaker 7>company had closed down.

0:15:49.320 --> 0:15:52.840
<v Speaker 2>Right, So if you look up Untapped World Publishing as

0:15:52.880 --> 0:15:57.760
<v Speaker 2>one director and his name's Dirk's team Camp. Dirk lives

0:15:57.760 --> 0:15:59.760
<v Speaker 2>in America now and he makes himself out to be

0:15:59.800 --> 0:16:02.680
<v Speaker 2>a bit of a media magnate. He even appeared on

0:16:02.680 --> 0:16:05.600
<v Speaker 2>the podcast talking about how he's made a career out

0:16:05.640 --> 0:16:08.040
<v Speaker 2>of purchasing international magazine licenses.

0:16:08.840 --> 0:16:11.160
<v Speaker 8>I started my own thing. I got a license for

0:16:11.280 --> 0:16:14.360
<v Speaker 8>a magazine called Fighters only for the South African region.

0:16:14.600 --> 0:16:17.080
<v Speaker 8>It's been a couple of years later. Now we're publishing

0:16:17.760 --> 0:16:20.400
<v Speaker 8>fifty odd titles in four different countries.

0:16:20.880 --> 0:16:24.400
<v Speaker 2>But nowhere in this interview does he mention anything about

0:16:24.440 --> 0:16:28.400
<v Speaker 2>glamor magazines. And there's nothing on his Instagram page about

0:16:28.400 --> 0:16:31.560
<v Speaker 2>the International Playboys either. Everyone on the team has reached

0:16:31.560 --> 0:16:35.160
<v Speaker 2>out to him via Instagram by email that does not

0:16:35.240 --> 0:16:40.600
<v Speaker 2>want to talk. We've not left him alone, No, we've

0:16:40.640 --> 0:16:44.920
<v Speaker 2>been handing why might Dirk want to keep his international

0:16:44.920 --> 0:16:49.760
<v Speaker 2>glamour empire under wraps? It's confusing because this company looks

0:16:49.800 --> 0:16:53.600
<v Speaker 2>legit like there's business articles about him making acquisitions of magazines.

0:16:54.200 --> 0:17:01.680
<v Speaker 2>He's mentioned on the Playboy official Wikipedia page. Why oh interesting?

0:17:03.320 --> 0:17:08.040
<v Speaker 2>So researching Dirk's the incomp online mentions a model who

0:17:08.040 --> 0:17:15.120
<v Speaker 2>filed a lawsuit the model's allegation that she paid thousands

0:17:15.160 --> 0:17:33.359
<v Speaker 2>of dollars to appear in a fake magazine.

0:17:38.440 --> 0:17:41.800
<v Speaker 9>The entertainment business is a very dirty business. Anybody who

0:17:41.800 --> 0:17:45.040
<v Speaker 9>goes into it should be very weary and not trust

0:17:45.040 --> 0:17:47.440
<v Speaker 9>anybody except your lawyer, and even your lawyers, you don't

0:17:47.440 --> 0:17:48.640
<v Speaker 9>want to really trust them all that much.

0:17:48.720 --> 0:17:51.760
<v Speaker 2>And listen to me. That's Drew Sherman, a lawyer from

0:17:51.800 --> 0:17:56.480
<v Speaker 2>Los Angeles who specializes in the entertainment industry. After almost

0:17:56.560 --> 0:17:59.600
<v Speaker 2>two decades in the business, he thought he'd seen it

0:17:59.640 --> 0:18:02.760
<v Speaker 2>all until he was blown away by a new case.

0:18:05.840 --> 0:18:08.119
<v Speaker 2>Drew was contacted by a model who told him that

0:18:08.160 --> 0:18:11.399
<v Speaker 2>she'd been scammed in twenty sixteen by both Dirkstein Camp

0:18:11.800 --> 0:18:15.280
<v Speaker 2>and a photographer working with him. To be clear, this

0:18:15.440 --> 0:18:19.720
<v Speaker 2>was another Glamor photographer, not Luis Gomez. The model said

0:18:19.760 --> 0:18:22.520
<v Speaker 2>that she'd paid to appear in an international edition of

0:18:22.560 --> 0:18:26.960
<v Speaker 2>a Maxim magazine that didn't really exist. Maxim's another big

0:18:27.000 --> 0:18:28.000
<v Speaker 2>Glamor magazine.

0:18:28.680 --> 0:18:32.960
<v Speaker 9>Maxim is a legitimate magazine, but we alleged and we

0:18:33.080 --> 0:18:36.840
<v Speaker 9>believed that the people that were licensed to these various

0:18:36.960 --> 0:18:41.199
<v Speaker 9>versions internationally, this one person at least was using that

0:18:41.320 --> 0:18:44.840
<v Speaker 9>right that they had to then make other illegitimate versions

0:18:45.480 --> 0:18:46.840
<v Speaker 9>and swindle people out of their money.

0:18:47.760 --> 0:18:50.520
<v Speaker 2>The model claimed she paid a photographer to be published

0:18:50.560 --> 0:18:53.880
<v Speaker 2>in Maxim South Africa, a magazine Dirk owned. The license

0:18:53.960 --> 0:18:58.120
<v Speaker 2>for The fee was ten thousand dollars in total. Four

0:18:58.160 --> 0:19:01.760
<v Speaker 2>thousand went to the photographer for shoot and six thousand

0:19:01.880 --> 0:19:04.720
<v Speaker 2>went to Dirk to get her on the cover. Then,

0:19:04.760 --> 0:19:07.639
<v Speaker 2>she says, the publisher and photographer told her that they

0:19:07.680 --> 0:19:11.080
<v Speaker 2>could get her and even more Maxim magazines if she

0:19:11.160 --> 0:19:12.360
<v Speaker 2>paid more money to.

0:19:12.359 --> 0:19:16.600
<v Speaker 9>Dirk, Maxim Nigeria and a Maxim Middle East.

0:19:16.960 --> 0:19:19.840
<v Speaker 2>But when she only received digital versions of these magazines

0:19:20.000 --> 0:19:23.920
<v Speaker 2>and no hard copies, she became suspicious, so she hired

0:19:23.960 --> 0:19:26.560
<v Speaker 2>people on the ground to do some digging for her.

0:19:26.920 --> 0:19:30.040
<v Speaker 9>The persons that she hired in Nigeria and Dubai couldn't

0:19:30.040 --> 0:19:32.879
<v Speaker 9>find them because there is no such thing. Those Maxims

0:19:32.920 --> 0:19:34.200
<v Speaker 9>never existed at all.

0:19:36.440 --> 0:19:39.960
<v Speaker 2>The model brought a claim against Maxim, Dirk and the photographer,

0:19:40.240 --> 0:19:43.040
<v Speaker 2>accusing them of fraud. By the time the model brought

0:19:43.040 --> 0:19:46.000
<v Speaker 2>the claim, Maxim had already cut ties with Dirk for

0:19:46.119 --> 0:19:46.960
<v Speaker 2>unknown reasons.

0:19:48.280 --> 0:19:50.440
<v Speaker 9>Maxim came to us right away and said we didn't

0:19:50.440 --> 0:19:52.000
<v Speaker 9>have anything to do with it. We didn't allow this,

0:19:52.040 --> 0:19:52.879
<v Speaker 9>we didn't know about it.

0:19:52.960 --> 0:19:53.920
<v Speaker 3>Blah blah blah.

0:19:54.080 --> 0:19:55.120
<v Speaker 9>I mean, that's what happens.

0:19:55.359 --> 0:19:56.200
<v Speaker 6>Everybody di dies.

0:19:57.000 --> 0:20:00.480
<v Speaker 2>Maxim denied all allegations and brought a claim again against

0:20:00.640 --> 0:20:04.520
<v Speaker 2>Dirk for being a co conspirator who was quite negligently

0:20:04.640 --> 0:20:08.160
<v Speaker 2>and intentionally responsible for what had happened. The model ended

0:20:08.200 --> 0:20:12.240
<v Speaker 2>up retracting some allegations against the photographer, and all parties

0:20:12.320 --> 0:20:15.840
<v Speaker 2>eventually settled, but Drew still thinks Maxim should have taken

0:20:15.880 --> 0:20:18.320
<v Speaker 2>more responsibility. And I agree.

0:20:18.600 --> 0:20:21.639
<v Speaker 9>We alleged that Maxim had an idea of what was

0:20:21.680 --> 0:20:24.760
<v Speaker 9>going on. Maybe they didn't authorize it and weren't part

0:20:24.760 --> 0:20:26.479
<v Speaker 9>of it, weren't making money off of it, but they

0:20:26.520 --> 0:20:28.560
<v Speaker 9>knew what was going on and didn't do anything about it.

0:20:29.520 --> 0:20:31.880
<v Speaker 2>Herd the Houseworth was a journalist at the New York

0:20:31.920 --> 0:20:34.680
<v Speaker 2>Post who got a tip off about the lawsuit. After

0:20:34.720 --> 0:20:37.439
<v Speaker 2>looking into it, she found the Maxim case wasn't a

0:20:37.480 --> 0:20:37.920
<v Speaker 2>one off.

0:20:38.280 --> 0:20:40.800
<v Speaker 10>Effectively, any woman can be a magazine cover role these

0:20:40.840 --> 0:20:42.320
<v Speaker 10>days if she's wanting to pony up the doll.

0:20:42.960 --> 0:20:45.240
<v Speaker 2>Basically, if you have the money.

0:20:45.200 --> 0:20:47.119
<v Speaker 10>Then you too can be a cover role, and you

0:20:47.160 --> 0:20:49.600
<v Speaker 10>can be on Playboy Sweden or a Maximum South Africa

0:20:49.720 --> 0:20:50.919
<v Speaker 10>or play Woie Australia.

0:20:51.400 --> 0:20:54.200
<v Speaker 2>She gave it a name pay for play. But even

0:20:54.240 --> 0:20:57.560
<v Speaker 2>though Header cause it a scandal, many models still think

0:20:57.640 --> 0:20:59.560
<v Speaker 2>paying for appearances is worth it.

0:21:00.400 --> 0:21:04.119
<v Speaker 10>Maxim and Playboy are huge publications. Then one way to

0:21:04.119 --> 0:21:07.720
<v Speaker 10>get verified that coveted blue check is to be published.

0:21:07.880 --> 0:21:10.200
<v Speaker 10>And obviously once you're verified on Instagram and you have

0:21:10.200 --> 0:21:12.200
<v Speaker 10>a certain follow account, then you can strike deals with

0:21:12.320 --> 0:21:14.520
<v Speaker 10>brands and then you make money. It's how people are

0:21:14.680 --> 0:21:17.520
<v Speaker 10>making their living, you know. It's that whole figure till

0:21:17.560 --> 0:21:19.359
<v Speaker 10>you make it mentality at its core.

0:21:20.320 --> 0:21:23.120
<v Speaker 2>It's clear that the major glamour brands know about pay

0:21:23.160 --> 0:21:24.000
<v Speaker 2>for play.

0:21:24.160 --> 0:21:28.159
<v Speaker 10>Maxim and Playboy are not actually slapping down on this

0:21:28.240 --> 0:21:28.600
<v Speaker 10>at all.

0:21:28.800 --> 0:21:33.160
<v Speaker 4>They're not raining in these rogue actors. They're not cleaning

0:21:33.240 --> 0:21:39.240
<v Speaker 4>up the mess. I went to Playboy and Maxim for comment.

0:21:39.960 --> 0:21:42.199
<v Speaker 4>Maxim never got back to me, but they did give

0:21:42.240 --> 0:21:45.840
<v Speaker 4>a statement in response to Heather's article. Certain so called

0:21:45.920 --> 0:21:49.480
<v Speaker 4>international editions of Maxim are unauthorized and are in no

0:21:49.600 --> 0:21:53.960
<v Speaker 4>way connected to Maxim magazine. Maxim's flagship USA edition does

0:21:54.000 --> 0:21:55.840
<v Speaker 4>not condone any form.

0:21:55.640 --> 0:21:58.480
<v Speaker 2>Of pay for play. Playboy did get back to me

0:21:58.920 --> 0:22:02.160
<v Speaker 2>with a statement. At trips to a company spokesperson, they

0:22:02.240 --> 0:22:05.680
<v Speaker 2>told us the following. While the magazine is still printed

0:22:05.720 --> 0:22:10.240
<v Speaker 2>in several other countries through licensing partnerships, neither Playboy nor

0:22:10.280 --> 0:22:14.000
<v Speaker 2>its affiliates request payment by models. Any sort of request

0:22:14.040 --> 0:22:17.520
<v Speaker 2>for payment by models is not authorized nor endorsed by

0:22:17.560 --> 0:22:23.199
<v Speaker 2>Playboy and its affiliates. This industry feels like a wild West,

0:22:23.359 --> 0:22:27.840
<v Speaker 2>where it appears anything goes, and it seems Luis Gomez's

0:22:27.840 --> 0:22:31.960
<v Speaker 2>whole enterprise relies on that lack of regulation because according

0:22:32.000 --> 0:22:34.800
<v Speaker 2>to the models that we've spoken with, he engages in

0:22:34.840 --> 0:22:38.000
<v Speaker 2>pay for play as well. It's not just the owner

0:22:38.040 --> 0:22:42.119
<v Speaker 2>paying for playmate certificates. He's charging models hundreds, if not

0:22:42.400 --> 0:22:46.280
<v Speaker 2>thousands of pounds to appear in Playboy all the time,

0:22:47.080 --> 0:22:49.480
<v Speaker 2>including loads of the models in the WhatsApp group that

0:22:49.520 --> 0:22:52.399
<v Speaker 2>Emily and Hero were in. Here are some of the

0:22:52.440 --> 0:22:55.760
<v Speaker 2>messages that he sent promoting these so called opportunities.

0:22:56.640 --> 0:22:59.640
<v Speaker 11>We have a special rate of six cond of bounds

0:22:59.840 --> 0:23:04.679
<v Speaker 11>in British waves editorial in Playboy. Huge editorial production for

0:23:04.760 --> 0:23:08.080
<v Speaker 11>Playboy in July each year, have to pay only eight

0:23:08.200 --> 0:23:12.600
<v Speaker 11>hundred dollars. Give me a prize of sixteen hundred dollars.

0:23:13.119 --> 0:23:14.560
<v Speaker 1>He will just try and get you to pay as

0:23:14.640 --> 0:23:16.000
<v Speaker 1>much money as he can get out of you.

0:23:16.840 --> 0:23:20.840
<v Speaker 11>One thousand, nine hundred and fifty dollars. That is the

0:23:20.920 --> 0:23:26.520
<v Speaker 11>cost for an editorial in Playboy maximum FHM. I have

0:23:26.600 --> 0:23:29.840
<v Speaker 11>an editorial in Playboy in next month. It's one thousand,

0:23:30.320 --> 0:23:35.359
<v Speaker 11>nine hundred and eighty dollars each. Three thousand, nine hundred

0:23:35.600 --> 0:23:37.200
<v Speaker 11>and eighty dollars this one.

0:23:39.000 --> 0:23:42.080
<v Speaker 2>Just think people paid that? Yeah, so many girls did.

0:23:42.760 --> 0:23:44.919
<v Speaker 2>They got a front cover, like a four page spread.

0:23:49.280 --> 0:23:51.639
<v Speaker 2>The most I've heard of a model paying Lewise is

0:23:51.760 --> 0:23:56.480
<v Speaker 2>ten thousand pounds for a playmate title. I've spoken to

0:23:56.560 --> 0:23:59.160
<v Speaker 2>so many models who say they paid Lewise going as

0:23:59.200 --> 0:24:03.000
<v Speaker 2>insane ounce of money. Over the years, that money was

0:24:03.040 --> 0:24:05.720
<v Speaker 2>often hard to find. Some of these women were on

0:24:05.760 --> 0:24:09.879
<v Speaker 2>the breadline, out of work, with kids, in debt, and

0:24:10.080 --> 0:24:12.960
<v Speaker 2>so desperate for a break that they even borrowed cash

0:24:13.000 --> 0:24:16.560
<v Speaker 2>of family and friends to pay him. And the model's

0:24:16.560 --> 0:24:19.880
<v Speaker 2>alleged that Luise has one other option. If you're really broke,

0:24:20.440 --> 0:24:23.920
<v Speaker 2>if you won't pay me the money like other girls,

0:24:25.000 --> 0:24:28.720
<v Speaker 2>you've got to pay me in sex. What's more, not

0:24:28.960 --> 0:24:32.639
<v Speaker 2>one model told me that she benefited from those publications.

0:24:33.400 --> 0:24:35.119
<v Speaker 2>My biggest regret was paying the bloke.

0:24:35.920 --> 0:24:40.240
<v Speaker 7>I've been published in someone's picture book that they've made.

0:24:40.920 --> 0:24:42.159
<v Speaker 2>It isn't going to help your career.

0:24:42.680 --> 0:24:43.680
<v Speaker 4>You're wasting your money.

0:24:44.080 --> 0:24:46.600
<v Speaker 7>You should be scouted and put in a magazine because

0:24:46.600 --> 0:24:48.199
<v Speaker 7>you're a good model, not because you've paid for a

0:24:48.240 --> 0:24:50.400
<v Speaker 7>publication that's completely backwards.

0:24:50.920 --> 0:24:55.040
<v Speaker 1>The experience was traumatic, and I've gained nothing from it.

0:24:58.240 --> 0:25:02.400
<v Speaker 2>This honestly makes me feel I went back to Playboy

0:25:02.480 --> 0:25:05.160
<v Speaker 2>with everything we found out about Luis and his pay

0:25:05.200 --> 0:25:08.800
<v Speaker 2>for play practices. They said they stand by their previous statement,

0:25:09.480 --> 0:25:14.360
<v Speaker 2>adding that Playboy expressly prohibits its international publishing licensees from

0:25:14.400 --> 0:25:17.399
<v Speaker 2>accepting content from photographers or models on a pay to

0:25:17.440 --> 0:25:21.480
<v Speaker 2>play basis, But they also added in something new which

0:25:21.520 --> 0:25:26.000
<v Speaker 2>completely blew my mind. Their statement reads, when Playboy has

0:25:26.040 --> 0:25:28.840
<v Speaker 2>become aware that certain photographers have engaged in pay to

0:25:28.840 --> 0:25:31.400
<v Speaker 2>play practices, such as the one it learned of mister

0:25:31.440 --> 0:25:34.680
<v Speaker 2>Gomes in April of twenty nineteen, it has acted without

0:25:34.720 --> 0:25:38.040
<v Speaker 2>hesitation in support of women and directed the licensees to

0:25:38.119 --> 0:25:45.720
<v Speaker 2>blacklist those specific photographers. Playboy had instructed their international additions

0:25:45.760 --> 0:25:49.840
<v Speaker 2>to blacklist Luise in April twenty nineteen. That's more than

0:25:49.840 --> 0:25:52.439
<v Speaker 2>a year before Emily, Fiona and the rest of the

0:25:52.520 --> 0:25:57.280
<v Speaker 2>UK models shot with him. I can't believe this. Luis

0:25:57.440 --> 0:26:01.400
<v Speaker 2>might have been blacklisted by Playboy USA, but he kept going,

0:26:02.280 --> 0:26:05.639
<v Speaker 2>kept using his perceived status as a Playboy photographer to

0:26:05.720 --> 0:26:09.680
<v Speaker 2>bookshoots all over the world, and kept getting his photos

0:26:09.720 --> 0:26:14.359
<v Speaker 2>published in international editions of Playboy. I'm still trying to

0:26:14.400 --> 0:26:18.679
<v Speaker 2>process all of this. When I get a tip, it

0:26:18.760 --> 0:26:21.440
<v Speaker 2>turns out it's not just models who are alleging financial

0:26:21.440 --> 0:26:24.560
<v Speaker 2>abuse at the hands of Luis. A former business partner

0:26:24.680 --> 0:26:27.200
<v Speaker 2>is too. As far as you were aware, did he

0:26:27.320 --> 0:26:30.920
<v Speaker 2>have an official relationship with Playboy at all?

0:26:31.359 --> 0:26:33.840
<v Speaker 3>According to him, who did, he didn't want to give

0:26:33.880 --> 0:26:36.239
<v Speaker 3>me contact. He would never really like get into it.

0:26:56.480 --> 0:26:59.640
<v Speaker 2>Craig Block is an American glamour photographer. He's a big

0:26:59.680 --> 0:27:02.760
<v Speaker 2>guy with glasses and a shock of spiky, dark brown hair.

0:27:03.320 --> 0:27:05.520
<v Speaker 2>He says he first met Luise in twenty sixteen.

0:27:05.880 --> 0:27:07.879
<v Speaker 3>We would see each other at a couple of events.

0:27:08.119 --> 0:27:09.880
<v Speaker 3>We were talking. We would joke around a little bit.

0:27:10.040 --> 0:27:11.720
<v Speaker 3>So if he saw my work, he'd liked my work,

0:27:12.800 --> 0:27:13.919
<v Speaker 3>maybe we could work together.

0:27:14.680 --> 0:27:18.080
<v Speaker 2>According to Luis's website, Craig became the US director of

0:27:18.119 --> 0:27:22.439
<v Speaker 2>operations for Universe one three seven Studios, Luisa's company. But

0:27:22.640 --> 0:27:25.959
<v Speaker 2>now he tells me he'd like to see Louise behind bars,

0:27:26.680 --> 0:27:27.840
<v Speaker 2>and that's putting it mildly.

0:27:28.320 --> 0:27:31.159
<v Speaker 3>They call him to Venezuela and tapeworm the He's the

0:27:31.200 --> 0:27:34.600
<v Speaker 3>definition of parasite. He's an organism that feeds off of

0:27:34.680 --> 0:27:36.400
<v Speaker 3>others to their detriment.

0:27:37.760 --> 0:27:40.160
<v Speaker 2>Craig said he could record this interview at his place

0:27:40.160 --> 0:27:43.760
<v Speaker 2>of work, which I imagined would be a photography studio. Turns

0:27:43.800 --> 0:27:47.159
<v Speaker 2>out it's actually an incredibly loud factory on Long Island,

0:27:47.160 --> 0:27:47.840
<v Speaker 2>New York.

0:27:51.520 --> 0:27:53.560
<v Speaker 3>Called on one second, Sorry, it's a cert One of

0:27:53.600 --> 0:27:55.920
<v Speaker 3>the fellows in the machine shop had to do something.

0:27:57.400 --> 0:27:59.440
<v Speaker 2>This gives me a clue as to why Craig might

0:27:59.480 --> 0:28:03.520
<v Speaker 2>hate Louise Yes, because despite Craig's slick Instagram, which boasts

0:28:03.680 --> 0:28:07.120
<v Speaker 2>endless pictures of scantily clad models, he is not living

0:28:07.119 --> 0:28:15.840
<v Speaker 2>a glamorous life. He's grinding hard at a factory. Something's

0:28:15.840 --> 0:28:18.600
<v Speaker 2>gone wrong, and Craig says it stems from his decision

0:28:18.600 --> 0:28:20.960
<v Speaker 2>to go into business with Luis in twenty eighteen.

0:28:21.640 --> 0:28:24.639
<v Speaker 3>He said to me, hey, I feel the universe has

0:28:24.680 --> 0:28:27.679
<v Speaker 3>put us together with good friends. We're supposed to be

0:28:27.680 --> 0:28:31.760
<v Speaker 3>doing something together. Honestly, he really did a great job

0:28:31.800 --> 0:28:35.800
<v Speaker 3>of convincing me that he was actually interested in being friend.

0:28:36.960 --> 0:28:40.040
<v Speaker 2>At the time, Craig was still fairly new to the industry,

0:28:40.320 --> 0:28:43.840
<v Speaker 2>so he was flattered that Louise wanted to work with him.

0:28:44.040 --> 0:28:47.680
<v Speaker 3>The business idea he can Playboy franchise.

0:28:47.600 --> 0:28:53.000
<v Speaker 2>Playboy Costa Rica, to be exact, this was massive, the

0:28:53.080 --> 0:28:56.520
<v Speaker 2>chance to take out an international Playboy license and become

0:28:56.560 --> 0:29:01.720
<v Speaker 2>a publisher, all thanks to Luis Gomers. Craig says. Louise

0:29:01.800 --> 0:29:04.000
<v Speaker 2>told him, if they made it big, they could be

0:29:04.040 --> 0:29:07.760
<v Speaker 2>earning up to three hundred and sixty thousand dollars from

0:29:07.760 --> 0:29:11.000
<v Speaker 2>the franchise alone, and twenty percent of that would go

0:29:11.080 --> 0:29:15.800
<v Speaker 2>straight to Craig. But first they need to invest. Took

0:29:15.880 --> 0:29:19.960
<v Speaker 2>me through the investment that you made. How much did

0:29:20.360 --> 0:29:22.760
<v Speaker 2>he ask for? What was the first payment?

0:29:23.520 --> 0:29:28.880
<v Speaker 3>I saw? It gets embarrassing. First payment was my retirement fine,

0:29:30.480 --> 0:29:31.960
<v Speaker 3>and that was about eighty thousand.

0:29:31.720 --> 0:29:37.000
<v Speaker 2>Dollars, roughly eighty thousand dollars. Unlike many things with Luise,

0:29:37.520 --> 0:29:39.720
<v Speaker 2>things quickly turned sour as.

0:29:39.560 --> 0:29:42.160
<v Speaker 3>Soon as we started the agreement. Apparently they became some

0:29:42.200 --> 0:29:44.920
<v Speaker 3>problem the Playboy and they weren't doing that anymore. So

0:29:45.000 --> 0:29:48.320
<v Speaker 3>who knows, but that d materialize. I'm just taking his

0:29:48.400 --> 0:29:50.720
<v Speaker 3>word from that. This is how it's all done. It's

0:29:50.720 --> 0:29:52.440
<v Speaker 3>a long term strategy.

0:29:52.560 --> 0:29:55.160
<v Speaker 2>Craig says. Louis always had a backup plan and he

0:29:55.240 --> 0:29:57.520
<v Speaker 2>always needed just a bit more cash from Craig to

0:29:57.560 --> 0:29:58.200
<v Speaker 2>make it happen.

0:29:58.640 --> 0:30:01.240
<v Speaker 3>There will always happen to him. You so pop up that.

0:30:01.360 --> 0:30:04.600
<v Speaker 3>He would be like, look, I need fifty thousand dollars.

0:30:04.600 --> 0:30:06.680
<v Speaker 3>I need forty thousand dollars so I can buy into this.

0:30:06.720 --> 0:30:08.240
<v Speaker 3>We can buy into that, we can get this, we

0:30:08.280 --> 0:30:08.680
<v Speaker 3>can get that.

0:30:10.720 --> 0:30:14.240
<v Speaker 2>According to Craig, another opportunity to get a Playboy license

0:30:14.280 --> 0:30:18.040
<v Speaker 2>came up. This time it was Playboy Portugal, but there

0:30:18.040 --> 0:30:20.960
<v Speaker 2>were other people interested in the franchise. They'd have to

0:30:20.960 --> 0:30:21.560
<v Speaker 2>move fast.

0:30:21.840 --> 0:30:23.680
<v Speaker 3>Well, he said to me, look, we're going to lose

0:30:23.680 --> 0:30:27.560
<v Speaker 3>Playboy Portugal if I don't have sixty thousand dollars. So

0:30:27.560 --> 0:30:29.000
<v Speaker 3>they're going to give it somebody other. Blah blah blah

0:30:29.000 --> 0:30:30.160
<v Speaker 3>blah blah.

0:30:30.200 --> 0:30:33.240
<v Speaker 2>By now, Craig was running dry, but he still had

0:30:33.280 --> 0:30:36.920
<v Speaker 2>faith in Luise and their partnership, so he decided to

0:30:36.920 --> 0:30:39.600
<v Speaker 2>give it one last shot. He took out a loan

0:30:39.680 --> 0:30:42.440
<v Speaker 2>against his own business to pay for the license.

0:30:43.000 --> 0:30:45.560
<v Speaker 3>I said, look, this is a six month loan. I

0:30:45.600 --> 0:30:49.480
<v Speaker 3>either two thousand dollars a week payment on this loan.

0:30:50.200 --> 0:30:53.880
<v Speaker 3>I can't live with that. So you got to tell

0:30:53.920 --> 0:30:55.720
<v Speaker 3>me when I'm going to start getting the money.

0:30:56.520 --> 0:30:59.920
<v Speaker 2>Instead, Craig says he got excuse after excuse.

0:31:00.360 --> 0:31:02.080
<v Speaker 3>He would just say, well, it's not time yet. It

0:31:02.160 --> 0:31:02.720
<v Speaker 3>takes time.

0:31:07.000 --> 0:31:10.280
<v Speaker 2>In case it's not obvious, Craig thinks Luise ran off

0:31:10.320 --> 0:31:10.840
<v Speaker 2>with his money.

0:31:11.480 --> 0:31:13.920
<v Speaker 3>Well, he couldn't send me a red penny, and.

0:31:13.880 --> 0:31:15.600
<v Speaker 2>Now Craig's totally broke.

0:31:16.160 --> 0:31:18.120
<v Speaker 3>I said to him, you've led me dry. It's time

0:31:18.200 --> 0:31:22.640
<v Speaker 3>to leave. I've gone to an attorney that didn't seem

0:31:22.640 --> 0:31:25.840
<v Speaker 3>to do anything. My father a complain online with the FBI.

0:31:25.920 --> 0:31:29.040
<v Speaker 3>I haven't heard anything back. Nobody seems to want to

0:31:29.080 --> 0:31:32.040
<v Speaker 3>deal with it. I gave up on retirement. That's not

0:31:32.080 --> 0:31:32.640
<v Speaker 3>going to happen.

0:31:36.600 --> 0:31:39.480
<v Speaker 2>Craig says he has nothing to show for the estimated

0:31:39.680 --> 0:31:43.000
<v Speaker 2>quarter of a million dollars that he invested in Luise's

0:31:43.000 --> 0:31:45.640
<v Speaker 2>playboy fantasy. When he was giving you this dream, when

0:31:45.640 --> 0:31:47.080
<v Speaker 2>he was telling you that you guys were going to

0:31:47.120 --> 0:31:49.960
<v Speaker 2>be business partners in what sounds like a bit of

0:31:49.960 --> 0:31:52.680
<v Speaker 2>a Glamor Empire. What would that have meant to you

0:31:52.720 --> 0:31:53.760
<v Speaker 2>if that had all come off?

0:31:54.000 --> 0:31:56.800
<v Speaker 3>Oh would have meant I mean, that would have been fantastic.

0:31:57.320 --> 0:32:00.040
<v Speaker 3>He knows this. So for me to be able to

0:32:00.120 --> 0:32:02.040
<v Speaker 3>do something like that where I could travel and not

0:32:02.120 --> 0:32:06.080
<v Speaker 3>have to be changed to a machine chart, that would

0:32:06.160 --> 0:32:09.720
<v Speaker 3>mean the world to me. Yeah, and that's what he exploited.

0:32:13.240 --> 0:32:16.080
<v Speaker 2>Knowing what I know now about Louise being blacklisted by

0:32:16.080 --> 0:32:19.960
<v Speaker 2>Playboy in twenty nineteen, the Glamor Empire, he promised Craig

0:32:20.120 --> 0:32:23.400
<v Speaker 2>would probably never have seen the light of day. Just

0:32:23.480 --> 0:32:26.680
<v Speaker 2>like with models, Louise seems to have used his associations

0:32:26.680 --> 0:32:29.640
<v Speaker 2>with the Glamor brand to extract a lot of money

0:32:29.640 --> 0:32:32.720
<v Speaker 2>from Craig, and it looks like that money may have

0:32:32.800 --> 0:32:35.520
<v Speaker 2>landed in Louise's account before his trip to the UK

0:32:35.880 --> 0:32:39.160
<v Speaker 2>for his so called Playboy Tour, the tour where I've

0:32:39.200 --> 0:32:42.320
<v Speaker 2>heard Luis Gomez used the allure of Playboy to conduct

0:32:42.360 --> 0:32:45.960
<v Speaker 2>photo shoots with around a dozen women, many of whom

0:32:46.000 --> 0:32:54.960
<v Speaker 2>came to me with allegations of abuse. It all seems

0:32:55.000 --> 0:32:59.920
<v Speaker 2>to be connected the money, the magazines, the alleged debut,

0:33:00.840 --> 0:33:03.840
<v Speaker 2>and it all leads back to Luis's exploitation of that

0:33:04.040 --> 0:33:08.520
<v Speaker 2>bunny logo like pulling focus on a camera. Things are

0:33:08.560 --> 0:33:13.120
<v Speaker 2>becoming clearer based on everything I've heard. Luis Gomez is rotten,

0:33:13.600 --> 0:33:15.680
<v Speaker 2>but he also seems to be a symptom of a

0:33:15.760 --> 0:33:20.760
<v Speaker 2>rotten industry. The golden age of adult magazines may be dead,

0:33:21.480 --> 0:33:25.080
<v Speaker 2>but this is still many women's dream. So what's left

0:33:25.080 --> 0:33:32.080
<v Speaker 2>of the glamour industry? It's time for me to venture

0:33:32.120 --> 0:33:36.760
<v Speaker 2>into that world to find out for myself. Coming up

0:33:36.800 --> 0:33:39.560
<v Speaker 2>on the Bonnie Truck. When I thought of this world,

0:33:39.600 --> 0:33:43.000
<v Speaker 2>when I imagined where this podcast would take me, this

0:33:43.120 --> 0:33:45.920
<v Speaker 2>is what I've been looking for this whole time. That

0:33:45.960 --> 0:33:46.440
<v Speaker 2>we found the.

0:33:46.480 --> 0:33:49.360
<v Speaker 3>Glamour Universe seven studios.

0:33:49.440 --> 0:33:52.800
<v Speaker 7>Yeah, okay, now, oh my god, I actually can't believe

0:33:52.880 --> 0:33:53.480
<v Speaker 7>that we're doing this.

0:34:05.520 --> 0:34:07.600
<v Speaker 2>Thanks to the women who shared their stories with us.

0:34:08.239 --> 0:34:11.480
<v Speaker 2>We contacted Luis Gomes multiple times for comment, but we

0:34:11.560 --> 0:34:14.120
<v Speaker 2>never heard back. He has not been charged with any

0:34:14.120 --> 0:34:17.880
<v Speaker 2>crimes and is presumed innocent under the law. We also

0:34:17.960 --> 0:34:21.680
<v Speaker 2>sought comment from Playboy. They declined our request for an interview,

0:34:21.960 --> 0:34:24.959
<v Speaker 2>but did issue the statement you heard earlier in this episode,

0:34:25.320 --> 0:34:28.320
<v Speaker 2>stating that they asked their licensees to blacklist the photographer

0:34:28.360 --> 0:34:31.000
<v Speaker 2>mentioned in this series and that they prohibit pay to

0:34:31.080 --> 0:34:34.320
<v Speaker 2>play the practice of charging models to appear in magazines.

0:34:41.480 --> 0:34:44.640
<v Speaker 2>The Bonnie Trap is produced by Novel. For more from Novel,

0:34:44.800 --> 0:34:48.560
<v Speaker 2>visit novel dot Audio. The show is hosted by me

0:34:48.800 --> 0:34:51.200
<v Speaker 2>Ellie Flynn. You can find me on social media by

0:34:51.200 --> 0:34:54.960
<v Speaker 2>searching my name that's eb l i E Fly double n.

0:34:55.440 --> 0:34:58.280
<v Speaker 2>This season is produced by Ellen the Biggs and written

0:34:58.360 --> 0:35:01.600
<v Speaker 2>by me Ellie Flynn and l the Biggs. Our assistant

0:35:01.640 --> 0:35:05.080
<v Speaker 2>producer is Amalia Sortland, with additional production from Lee Meyer

0:35:05.200 --> 0:35:09.400
<v Speaker 2>and Saskia Collette. Additional research by Valeria Rocker. The editors

0:35:09.440 --> 0:35:12.920
<v Speaker 2>are Georgia Moody and Austin Mitchell. Our executive producers are

0:35:12.960 --> 0:35:16.880
<v Speaker 2>Max O'Brien and Craig Strachan. Our fact checker is Fendall Fulton.

0:35:17.280 --> 0:35:21.400
<v Speaker 2>Production management from Cherie Houston and Charlotte Wolfe. Sound design,

0:35:21.520 --> 0:35:25.720
<v Speaker 2>mixing and scoring by Daniel Kempson and Nicholas Alexander. Music

0:35:25.840 --> 0:35:30.520
<v Speaker 2>supervision by Nicholas Alexander, Eleana Biggs and Max O'Brien. Original

0:35:30.600 --> 0:35:33.960
<v Speaker 2>music composed and performed by Jake Long and additional production

0:35:34.000 --> 0:35:38.280
<v Speaker 2>by Nicholas Alexander, Louisa Gerstein and Daniel Kempson. The series

0:35:38.400 --> 0:35:42.640
<v Speaker 2>artwork was designed by Christina Limcole, Willard Foxton's creative director

0:35:42.680 --> 0:35:45.719
<v Speaker 2>of development. Various women from the WhatsApp group Chat were

0:35:45.760 --> 0:35:49.040
<v Speaker 2>voiced by Boo Miller. Luis Gomes was played by Juan Solari.

0:35:49.520 --> 0:35:52.000
<v Speaker 2>The news clips you heard were from CNN, The Wall

0:35:52.040 --> 0:35:55.560
<v Speaker 2>Street Journal, and NBC. The interview clip of drukstine Camp

0:35:55.719 --> 0:35:58.200
<v Speaker 2>was from the podcast Beyond Grit with Robert Young

0:36:04.120 --> 0:36:04.480
<v Speaker 1>Novel