Hollywood actor posed as lingerie talent scout to get nudes: Lawsuit
A New York-based lingerie business is suing a Hollywood actor for thousands of dollars claiming he posed as a talent scout in a lewd ploy to get his hands on photos of naked women, court papers show.
Adore Me, a bra and lingerie retailer founded in 2011, slammed actor Daniel Giovanni Watson with a federal lawsuit Tuesday seeking upward of $75,000 for allegedly impersonating an established talent scout.
Watson is an actor who’s starred in a string of lesser-known movies as well as recent TV episodes of “Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G.,” according to his IMDB page.
Meanwhile, the casting director being impersonated has worked on the hit CW show “Gossip Girl” and the 2009 film “The Final Destination,” according to the lawsuit.
According to court papers, Watson created fake email and social media accounts under the casting director's name and then reached out to women, whom he allegedly lured “into a false sense of security and a belief that they will become lingerie models for Adore Me.”
“Defendant has launched a sophisticated scam to obtain the most sensitive information a person has – photographs of her most intimate body parts – by using Adore Me’s Marks without authorization and falsely holding himself out as affiliated with Adore Me,” according to the court documents.
Wilson allegedly used his own Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube and Twitter accounts to hunt for women. He then told them about his "close friend," the casting director, and how she was looking for "busty women" to test out the bras, according to examples provided in the suit. Watson would then allegedly ask for photos and information to be sent to email addresses that he created and controlled.
He instructed them "to include name, age, bra size, any and all photos that show face, breast etc' [sic]," according to the court papers. "Defendant further lures women into a false sense of security by saying "She also said all photos are seen only by her so u can send any with no discretion[.]"
Watson also claimed the casting director was offering to pay between $3,000 and more than $8,000, the suit shows.
He sometimes went as far as to meet the unsuspecting women in person at area hotspots.
Photographs of conversations included in the lawsuit show that when one woman said she'd talk to her agent about the proposition, he responded: "Ok [nevermind] she wants to leave agents and managers out."
“Adore Me does not work with talent scouts and does not accept unsolicited photos – nude or otherwise – from scouts or prospective models,” the lawsuit states.
But the casting agent – who goes by variations of Lisa Hayes Kroeger, Lindsey Hayes, Lindsey Kroeger and Lindsey Hayes Kroeger – does not work for and is not affiliated with the lingerie company. She also does not know, and has not worked with Watson, the court papers show.
“Most important, Adore Me never casts nude models and never requests nude pictures of prospective models in a model’s portfolio.”
Adore Me was ranked one of "New York’s fastest-growing companies” by Crain’s New York in 2016, according to its website. The business is seeking at least $75,000 in damages, as well as legal fees and related costs.
“This abusive behavior is unacceptable, and our brand will not stand by and allow our positive, empowering message to be turned around to target the very community we want to support,” said Charlotte Morgan, general counsel for Adore Me. “We will do everything we can to protect our customers and keep the larger retail community safe.”
Proceeds will reportedly go to a nonprofit helping victims of revenge porn, according to Morgan.
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Watson did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request seeking comment, but told the New York Post someone was using his “name and credibility as clout.”
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“Somebody else is trying to slander me. I was aware of the situation. I found myself in the middle of a cesspool. I’m an actor,” he said, later adding: “This is very shocking.”