LOS ANGELES – Vivid Entertainment has offered $100,000 to the estate of Jimi Hendrix for verifiable proof that the late guitarist is not the man seen in 'Jimi Hendrix: The Sex Tape.'
Experience Hendrix, LLC issued a statement to the press last week essentially dismissing the tape as a phony. Jimi's brother Leon Hendrix has also publicly denied the tape's authenticity.
"The statement from Experience Hendrix proves nothing," said Vivid co-chairman Steven Hirsch. "Vivid took considerable time and spent a substantial sum of money to authenticate the footage and we are very comfortable that this is the real thing. We believe that those who say otherwise are relying on their emotions to make unsubstantiated claims. If Experience Hendrix can prove definitively that it's not Jimi Hendrix on this footage then we will pay them $100,000."
In a company press release issued this afternoon, Vivid backs up its claim that the footage is real with quotes from Neville Chesters, a former roadie for the Jimi Hendrix Experience who also worked with The Who and Cream.
"I'm positive that we are viewing the real Jimi Hendrix," said Chesters. "We were all jealous of Jimi's sex life at the time and we were accustomed to seeing him frequently go to his room at night with an entourage of women we called his 'Band of Gypsys,' the same name of his 1969 recording.
"The late Sixties were socially, sexually and politically charged times," Chesters continued. "The footage in the Vivid movie looks as if it was shot in about 1968. It would have been difficult to get explicit film processed commercially in the U.S. back then, no less of a bi-racial sex act. So this film was probably developed in Germany and kept hidden because of how incendiary its release could have been."
Cynthia "Plaster Caster" Albritton stands by her claim that the footage is real.
"No one can pay me any amount of money to say I saw something I didn't see," Albritton told Vivid last week. "Judging from having cast Jimi, in addition to looking at some old photos of him recently, I'm convinced that he is indeed the man seen in this film. Facial aspects such as the muscle around his mouth, the lips, eyebrows and mustache, look like those of Jimi. The angle of the camera somewhat alters his face, which explains why the first few seconds seen in a trailer before the Vivid feature was released has caused some confusion. Also, the hairstyle, body mass, and absence of acne scars make me think that the film was made during the last year of his life [1970]."
Albritton also disputed a claim by Hendrix' girlfriend Kathy Etchingham that the 8mm film was not authentic.
"Kathy had only seen stills of the film - not the actual tape which is much clearer. [...] I think Kathy still has a hard time talking about Jimi doing all these things and facing the fact that he had other women. It sounds to me that she is still smarting from the pain of memories that he was not always faithful to her."
"Jimi Hendrix The Sex Tape" can be downloaded on www.vivid.com for $39.95 and is also available at retail stores nationwide. Consumers can view a trailer at www.hendrixsextape.com.
To order, contact David Peskin at (866) 466-6969 ext. 108 or [email protected].
