The photo at left shows Ashley Dupree, the 22 year-old high class prostitute that brought down New York Governor Elliot Spitzer. Mr. Spitzer, who shot to fame in the early part of this decade as a moral crusader of sorts against corporate abuses and white collar crime, was brought down earlier this week as a result of a federal wire-tapping probe against an illegal prostitution ring. He announced his resignation to the media yesterday and his resignation will take effect on Monday, March 17.
Ashley went by the name of "Kristen" on the Emperor's Club VIP catalogue. As a high-class prostitute (quite an oxymoron), the "fantasy" that was sold to Mr. Spitzer by Emperors Club VIP was that Kristen was a successful swimsuit model who had travelled the world.
With the resignation of Mr. Spitzer, Ms. Dupree joins a rather infamous list of women such as Monica Lewinsky (Bill Clinton), Christine Keeler (Profumo scandal in the UK), Donna Rice (Sen. Gary Hart), Jessica Hahn (Rev. Jim Bakker), and Debra Murphree (Rev. Jimmy Swaggart). These were women who, through sex, had brought down men of wealth, influence and power. Except for Bill Clinton, the men they had affairs with had unsullied public reputations at the time.
Whether she likes it or not, the Spitzer episode changes Ms. Dupree's life forever. At 22, she still has many years ahead of her. It is pretty certain that a federal indictment will be levelled against Mr. Spitzer in the coming months. Should that happen, Ms. Dupree will most certainly be asked to testify before a federal grand jury.
In the foreseeable future, she will be finding her name in the headlines. Vultures, in the form of agents, will be circling her for opportunities to make a quick buck about the whole affair. She'll probably be offered book deals, a movie on her life, and maybe, even a recording contract. Exploitation is the name of the game, my friends.
It is up to her. She can use the lessons learned from this whole Spitzer affair to make right a lot of things that went wrong in her life. The other option would be to remain unwise and simply replace one form of exploitation with another.
Photo credit: New York Times and MySpace
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
The Face That Brought Down A Moral Crusader
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
10 responses:
comment on the photo - love the dewy, sun-kissed color of her skin.
Mari,
Ooh yesss, I love that skin too...
Oops! Sorry, I didn't mean to. Yes, the skin tone was a good match for the color of the garment. They were well coordinated. (Scholarly reply kunyari.) :D
spot on reporting!
rdl,
Thanks! :)
Scandals involving personalities who are perceived to be upright individuals shows that hypocrisy is alive and well, even among the so-called crusaders... tsk tsk.
To their credit though, they (save for Clinton) chose to resign their post rather than hang on. A least may delikadesa sila. Kung dito yan, nakow... katakot-takot na excuses yan, at ipagmamalaki pa nila ang mga affairs nila. I mean, just look at Estrada and Ramon Revilla, they even brag about the number of children they have from different women.
Rudy,
And that's the reason why I couldn't name a single Filipino politician for no one has really resigned in disgrace because of an affair. We all know that a lot of them maintain mistresses. We all know that a lot of them have fathered illegitimate children. And yet, nobody questions how they manage to send these kids to exclusive schools and maintain beautiful homes given their salary in government.
Growing up, I personally met the mistress of a Liberal Party stalwart in one of our family parties. She was a very pretty lady, the mestiza type. The LP stalwart was known to the public then, and still is, as a man of integrity and honesty. I'm just not sure though if they still have a relationship.
hmmm...who wouldn't scamper for big money when she's living in a $2k+ apartment/ boyfriend just left and who's gonna pay?
it's sad how these supposedly BRIGHT girls go into prostitution for easy money. :(
as for Spitzer...well,that's the price of arrogance.
In her place I would go for a high paid book deal!
I don't see the point to be honest here... you get paid as a hooker... there is no love involved. We don't even know how this Spitzer treated her.
It was purely a business transaction...
Ipanema,
Materialism and the lure of easy money attract people to illegal activities like moths to a flame.
Sidney,
She ought to wisen up, sign a book deal, make money, and get out of the business totally.
I have serious doubts though that that's going to happen with this girl. We shall see.
Post a Comment