Some questions for anyone that can help or knows?

[kb2013]

I'm a possible contestant on an up coming reality show.. I am now 27 yrs old. Well when I was 18 and in college I did some foot fetish/costume/light bondage/tickling modeling for 1 producer ONLY. I worked with him 30 times and we did a lot of tickling. There was no nudity though and nothing sexual ever happened. Word got around to the entire town to my friends and family and I was embarassed. I tried to tell him to take them down but was rejected because "i signed a model release" or something like that.

I informed that I would be entering the TV show business and politely asked if he could remove them. He then emailed me back saying, "Hope ya make it big. I will have my BMW picked out." Whatever the hell that means.

With me getting into show biz.. I do NOT want anymore people possibly seeing these pictures/videos or the media getting a hold of them so I wanted to ask..

1) Is it likely, if I make it to the show's finalists, that word will come out that I did this kind of modeling? A lot of people from my area know.. so will they tell the cable network?
2) I am scared of TMZ or someone getting a hold of the photos ruining my career. Will they pay the Producer for the images to show on TV? How much will they pay them?
3) What can i do about this for now?

im kinda scared and nervous... dont want this to cost me anymore than it has. ALL of my family and friends know I did this. It was the talk of the town years ago.

Did a little bit of research on the industry again and found this forum.

 

[anderson1129]

Have you ever contacted an attorney about this matter? Every state has different laws about this kind of stuff I would probably start there.

 

[WorkInProgress]

First, the easy part, interpreting the asshole's E-mail to you. "I will have my BMW picked out" means "I'll be cashing in on your fame," meaning that the videos will suddenly be a whole lot more valuable for him to hawk. I'm sorry to say this, but that's what it sounds like to me.

Now, about the reality show itself. The real key variable is how high-visibility it is. If it's anywhere near the level of "Big Brother," where there are fan sites that compete with each other to have the latest dirt on the new contestants each year, then I would call it a 100% guarantee that your tickling video career will become public knowledge, as it did with a young woman named Sara back in 2003, when she was on one of those dating reality shows, maybe "Joe Millionaire." If it's a smaller-scale show, and/or the kind where audiences aren't all that interested in contestants' personal lives, then it may go under the radar. But if it's "Big Brother" or anything like it, forget it. Don't go on any one of those shows if you don't want your personal life, on and off camera, held up for public scrutiny. Personally, I don't see how being a contestant on "Big Brother," with all the stuff that happens in that house, is any less scandalous than making tickling videos. With or without a background making tickling videos, you don't go on a show like "Big Brother" if privacy matters to you.

And now, a suggestion: If it comes out, do not let anybody get the impression that it bothers you. Shrug it off. I don't know what career you're ultimately in, but in my opinion this is the kind of thing that can easily blow over. It's not, by any means, going to ruin your life. But if you act as if you think it's a big deal and a big scandal, that will reinforce the gossip hounds in their efforts to make it one. Don't help them.

Good luck.

 

[WorkInProgress]

I also want to add, while you're here, do check us out. If tickling still interests you at all, feel free to make yourself at home and chat about it here. Welcome.

 

[Myriads]

The material has been on the web. Even if you got the producer to remove it, it's in a dozen more places, and hundreds of Hard Drives. It's not going to vanish. Ever. No matter what you do.

If you become visible on TV it will be found and posted.

The best you can do is come up with a spin that works for you. "Yes I'm embarrassed, but I needed the cash and did the work, and I never did nudity." Own it, or it will own you.

Myriads

 

[kb2013]

Im still confused.

One person is saying it depends on the show and if people would be interested. The other person is saying that it will become public knowledge if I become a TV presence.

I did talk to a lawyer and basically he said if I signed a model release then there's nothing that can be done.

Sigh. Not sure what to think about this.

Thank ALL of you guys for your help so far. Just paranoid that it will come out.

 

[jhop220]

kb...I have a suggestion for you...

Your family and close friends already know of its existence. That cat is out of the bag...the people you care about the most...know. So, here is what you do if you become a contestant and it is released publicly...

Accept it for what it is. Don't let it be something to bring you down and not achieve your goals. If you have to talk about it....do so honestly and with the utmost integrity. If you do that then the one who releases the video will look worse than you.

Do not fear rejection or humiliation....accept what has happened and be strong...

I'm pulling for ya...Good Luck

 

[Bothersome]

Both what WIP and Myriads said is true.

On the internet, nothing disappears. Once it steps onto the web, it's there forever, end of story. Particularly if it's something like a clip that many people would be interested in watching. It'll be a part of your life until either you die, or the internet explodes. You can either hide from it, which is likely what I would do, or simply accept that you did it and move on.

The price of popularity is privacy. Always remember that. Never, ever sign up to do anything that may result in your fame if you have skeletons in your closet that you don't want getting out. Any actor, or other celebrity will tell you that same thing.

But, like Jhop said, the people closest to you already know. There may be people who discuss that little widget of information about you on random message boards throughout the internet, and it may even come up in interviews that you may or may not partake in... but is it really worth caring? You don't know those people, and they don't know you.

 

[LargerWorld2577]

I completely sympathize with you kb2013. This is an unfortunate situation. The people above me who have commented are right. It’s already out on the internet, and the only thing you can do is accept what you did and own it. I will say that I think producers of material like this should be morally responsible when dealing with their models. Just because some model releases are signed doesn’t mean the producer can’t be a nice person and take the stuff down. I certainly would do that at a model’s request if I were a producer. Model releases are meant to protect the producer from legal issues but you weren’t threatening any sort of legal action; all you wanted was for it to be removed. The sooner it is removed, the less chance of it getting out to more people. Who knows, right now it could just be sitting on the computers of people who have busy lives and couldn’t care to dig up your face and try and compare it to every contestant on every reality show. So there’s a chance this could go under the radar. And, your friends and family should support you with this, so perhaps you could talk to them about it.

You can do what you want with your life but I would suggest not going on TV. Being on TV changes people for the rest of their lives. You already feel embarrassed from doing those videos in the past and it’s a mistake you can learn from. Once you go on TV, that’s a much larger scale and is harder to blow over. If it’s really important to you though, then all I can suggest is changing your appearance and learn to talk differently so no one recognizes you. Hopefully you have a common first and last name, too? Plus, people really don’t have the time to or patience these days to notice. And, if people are on the lookout for you now (like that producer you worked with), they’ll have to go through a lot of trouble. Yes, all he has to do now is post it and ask people if they recognize you but he’ll look like a fool doing that, and he’ll have to constantly check his messages, which eventually gets tiring. Honestly, people are too worried about other issues these days.

Hope that reassures you!

 

[asutickler]

Information put out on the internet is like piss in a swimming pool: There's no taking it back out. Myriads is exactly right, your best option in this situation is damage control.

If you're looking for examples of how this has panned out in the past, I believe there was a reality show contestant around 10 years ago who had appeared in a bunch of FM Concepts videos. Damned if I can remember her name, though.

 

[kis123]

The material has been on the web. Even if you got the producer to remove it, it's in a dozen more places, and hundreds of Hard Drives. It's not going to vanish. Ever. No matter what you do.

If you become visible on TV it will be found and posted.

The best you can do is come up with a spin that works for you. "Yes I'm embarrassed, but I needed the cash and did the work, and I never did nudity." Own it, or it will own you.

Myriads

Anyone remember the first "black" Miss America named Vanessa Williams? Anyone remember what happened to her?

She fell away from the limelight, licked her wounds, and built an empire for herself!

You should do the same.........

 

[Myriads]

Im still confused.

One person is saying it depends on the show and if people would be interested. The other person is saying that it will become public knowledge if I become a TV presence.

I did talk to a lawyer and basically he said if I signed a model release then there's nothing that can be done.

Sigh. Not sure what to think about this.

Thank ALL of you guys for your help so far. Just paranoid that it will come out.

Let me try again.

Media with you in it was produced and sold on the internet. It is still being sold from it's copyright holders store.

You wish to have it removed. The producer whom you entered into a legal contract with (Work for hire) has refused. Which is his right. He paid you for a service, and owns the media. He can do with it what he wishes.

But. Even if he DID remove it, that would not solve what you see as your issue. Discovery of it after you go on TV.

Why? Because that media has been copied to dozens of places. It's been pirated, its on the hard drives of all who bought it. It's out in the world and can never be called back.

Once you go on TV someone somewhere will go. "Ah! I've seen this person someplace before." and start to look thru their files. And one of the holders of those hundreds of copies of the file WILL make the connection. And then they will post the file someplace where other people can see it. Or possibly sell the file (illegally) to a media site that can make hay off the fact that some Reality person did some Fetish work.

Odds are it WILL come out.

You can't stop it.

So all you can do is own it.

COntestants on Big Brother and Survivor have been porn actors. Many of the them of both genders have appeared in various sex and fetish material. No one cares.

For your own path you need to decide if you are comfortable with your friends and family knowing you did this media work in the past. If not, do not go on TV. If so, have a blast, and I hope you win whatever competition you are jumping into.

Myriads

 

[BrightEyes1082]

They're all right. It'll come out. The best thing you can do is act like you could not
give less of a shit about it. If it isn't a big thing for you, it won't be for others.

 

[paracarl44]

I have said this before..............................

The material has been on the web. Even if you got the producer to remove it, it's in a dozen more places, and hundreds of Hard Drives. It's not going to vanish. Ever. No matter what you do.

If you become visible on TV it will be found and posted.

The best you can do is come up with a spin that works for you. "Yes I'm embarrassed, but I needed the cash and did the work, and I never did nudity." Own it, or it will own you.

Myriads

^WHAT GOES OUT ON THE INTERNET, STAYS ON THE INTERNET!^