LOS ANGELES—Motley Models CEO Dave Rock on Saturday issued a statement addressing a number of topics.
It follows in full:
It’s come to our attention that a former model from 2016 has made some claims against both myself and my agency that I’d like to address. I met this talent in April of 2016 when she contracted with our agency to help her procure adult modeling work. Her first trip to LA, she stayed at my home for the better part of 3 weeks while she was being booked for shoots by one of my staff members (her booking agent). During this time, on two separate occasions we engaged in consensual sex based on what I believed at the time to be mutual attraction; boundaries were respected, no lines were crossed, and I certainly never pressured her or attempted to use my position to make her think this was expected. Shortly thereafter, I met another talent, Scarlett Sage, who I eventually started dating and have been in a relationship with for over 4 years. The aforementioned talent and I never connected romantically again.
I take full responsibility for using bad judgment and assuming that there was a mutual connection. I was foolish…but to allege that these encounters were forced or that she was pressured in any way is categorically false and only serves to undermine the legitimate claims of abuse and assault, which still happen all too frequently in our industry.
And let’s talk about dating in the adult industry for a minute…it happens ALL the time and at ALL levels. There are hundreds of industry relationships (or at the very least, consenting couplings) going on in this business right now between performers, directors, producers, photographers, crew, etc. All between consenting adults and no more uncommon or unethical than any other workplace romance.
My girlfriend is an adult performer. News Flash! She has hooked up with other female performers in and outside my agency in respectful and consensual ways. This is not illegal.
Nevertheless, moving forward, there will be a zero-tolerance policy of sexual interactions between staff/performers at Motley Models.
Running an agency in this business is a tough gig. At any one-time we will manage 40-plus girls between the age of 18-30 years old, over 600 in the last 10 years. With each individual comes a different personality & expectations. It’s a challenging demographic to say the least. No matter how successful you are at educating a new model on the best ways of building a sustainable brand, the porn industry’s turnover is very high.
Why does this happen? Some models that sleep through call times, show up late and unprepared, bad social media, difficult to work with, etc. As an agent, we recognize these signs usually pretty quickly and do our best to right the ship for them before it’s too late.
We are vocal, but sensitive about improvements they need to make to their brands. A great agency should be. We encourage them to be on time and prepared for shoots. We critique their social media to make sure they’re creating the best image for their brand. Some just don’t get it and can’t change bad habits. Tensions grow between the agency and talent, which usually results in us parting ways. Sometimes another talent agency takes a chance on them. The reality is that unless it’s another one of the bigger agencies, their opportunities are never as great and rarely is the level of service as good. This creates more animosity towards the agency as we are the easy ones to blame for their lack of success. Hence, we’re seeing other talent who hold grudges chiming in, even if they were treated with respect and professional representation. Performative wokeness is real.
Motley Models signs and books talent based solely on their ability to deliver a great scene/experience to the studios we book with. We employ two of the best agents in the business who handle all of the models' bookings in a professional manner.
Motley Models has negotiated some of the highest rates and contracts for our talent in the business.
Motley Models has always and will continue to have an open-door policy for feedback from any of our performers if they are ever put in an uncomfortable or unethical position on or off set, inside or outside the agency.
Motley Models does not book “private shoots” or escorting gigs." It’s not what we do. Every shoot we book for our talent is a professional opportunity and they’re well educated on what’s expected on set.
In January 2019, Motley Models was one of the first agencies to implement Sexual Harassment literature into its talent onboarding paperwork. We’ve had zero claims.
In February 2020 Motley became the only agency to implement a model payroll system. This allows qualifying talent to apply for unemployment and worker’s compensation benefits, as well as access to a 401k program. It also helps talent withholding taxes, which is an industry-wide issue.
Motley Models is the only agency with robust articles written by our management team that provides girls considering the industry and those entering with unmatched education of what the industry is about. motleymodels.com/faqs/
Motley Models is the only agency to create a podcast that goes into detail about each model’s path into the industry and how it affected their family, friends and home life. This helps educate models BEFORE they get into the industry, so they don’t make a decision they regret. motleymodels.com/backstage-pass/
We will continue to educate our talent on how to best create the most successful and sustainable brand (with their best interest in mind), so they can capitalize on the massive opportunity the adult business provides for a motivated individual.
Motley Models will always strive to provide the best experience and safest opportunities for our talent in the biz.
Thank you.
dR
Dave Rock
President & CEO
Motley Models
