Jaime Capdeboscq and Whitni Candiotto, two of the girls that filed suit against rapper/actor Snoop Dogg (a.k.a. Calvin Broadus) last year after a picture of them flanking the rapper and flashing their breasts appeared on the video and DVD covers of Girls Gone Wild: Doggy Style, have opted to settle out of court with the Dogfather.
Capdeboscq, who was 17 at the time the pictures was taken, and Candiotto, who was 18, said GGW founder Joseph Francis promised them the photos would not be used in connection with the Girls Gone Wild series. When it turned up on the cover, they sued Francis and Snoop. In addition, they accused the rap star of offering them Ecstasy and marijuana in exchange for revealing their goodies at the 2002 New Orleans party where the incident reportedly occurred.
Snoop countered the allegations by filing court papers claiming that the girls "voluntarily consumed alcohol and other intoxicants" during the shoot, and that they exposed their breasts of their own free will.
Snoop and Francis claim a sign was posted throughout the filming area that read, "By entering, you consent to the use of such film and your image in a commercial film product."
The agreement was approved July 21 by U.S. Magistrate Sally Shushan and signed off on by U.S. District Judge Robert McNamara. The settlement terms have not been disclosed.
Meanwhile, Francis' Girls Gone Wild production company, Mantra Films Inc., are dealing with a slew of legal problems, including 43 charges stemming from a filming session in Panama Beach during Spring Break 2003. Among the charges are racketeering and encouraging minors to indulge in X-rated behaviors. No trial date has been set in the case.
Additionally, according to E! Online, in 2003, "Mantra Films agreed to pay $1.1 million to settle a claim by the Federal Trade Commission that the company shipped unwanted skin flicks to unwitting recipients, and then charged them for the videos. As part of the settlement, the company will refund more than $548,000 to about 84,000 people who returned the videos, but got burned on the shipping costs. The FTC claims the average refund will fall somewhere in the area of $5."
Ironically, Snoop distanced himself from Francis and the Girls Gone Wild franchise last year, saying that he was turned off by the omission of women of color in the videos.
