A SEDUCTIVE pose, a lace robe draped across her elbows and a world-famous bunny logo in the top right-hand corner.
This was the publication that was supposed to change Emilie Rae’s life forever, but she could never have imagined the cost it came with.
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Emilie, 31, felt like “Charlie in the Chocolate Factory” when she was offered a “golden ticket” to shoot with Luis, a photographer whose connections in the glamour industry appeared to run deep.
Luis contacted Emilie, a glamour model from the UK, on Instagram in 2020.
The photographer, who is based in Texas, US, said he was coming to the UK when Covid lockdown restrictions were lifted – and that he wanted to shoot Emilie for Playboy.
That message led to a photo shoot, which eventually became the catalyst for a four-year investigation into abuse and exploitation within the glamour industry, detailed in my new podcast, The Bunny Trap.
Luis’ Instagram grid was full of photos he’d taken of models on the cover of Playboy editions.
Emilie couldn’t believe her luck. The model had recently lost a well-paid TV modelling gig due to the pandemic, and her OnlyFans earnings dwindled from the £8,000 a month she was initially bringing in, leaving her strapped into an expensive mortgage that she was worried about paying.
She thought this could be her chance to really make it – and Luis told her he could make her a star.
But Emilie claims her shoot with Luis became a nightmare, with the model alleging the photographer – who has not been charged with or convicted of any crimes – pressured her into more and more explicit poses.
She says despite being led to believe she was shooting for Playboy, the shoot quickly became pornographic, with Luis encouraging Emilie to use sex toys.
The Sun has contacted Luis multiple times over the claims of Emilie and other models, but received no response.
Emilie said: “I just thought ‘what is going on?’ He would physically come over and grab my hand and put it somewhere. He was very aggressive.”
The model claims the shoot escalated to the point where Luis began to shoot video, which Emilie hadn’t consented to, before asking her to perform a sex act on him.
Emilie says she was thankfully able to flee the Airbnb they had been shooting in, describing it as a “lucky escape”.
‘Harassment and abuse’
After, Emilie posted about her experience on Instagram – not naming any names – and said other models began to come forward, asking if she was talking about Luis.
The models banded together and began sharing their stories of alleged harassment and abuse on shoots with Luis.
Many claimed they had been pressured into situations they were uncomfortable with – and one model, Kiki Jay, claimed to have been sexually assaulted by Luis on a ‘Playboy’ shoot.
Kiki claims Luis inappropriately touched her on the shoot and tried to kiss her, before exposing himself and attempting to force Kiki to perform a sex act on him.
Kiki says she was “traumatised” and “burst into tears” during the alleged assault.
Kiki says she wanted to speak to the police after her shoot with Luis but was encouraged not to by her friends, who said her career as a glamour model would work against her.
I just thought ‘what is going on?’. He would physically come over and grab my hand and put it somewhere. He was very aggressive
Emilie Rae
Not long after the alleged assault, Kiki was contacted by Emilie, who had started a group chat for models who had allegations of abuse and harassment against Luis and wanted to take action, which Kiki describes as “music to my ears”.
The women from the group chat eventually reached out to me, wanting me to investigate their claims of harassment and abuse – and hoping that their voices might finally be heard.
My investigation took me in a direction I could never have predicted, from hearing the stories of around a dozen British models who claimed to have had negative experiences with Luis on shoots to unveiling an intricate web of alleged exploitation – both sexual and financial – that spans the globe.
Our latest episode, which is available now, reveals how Luis is charging models thousands of pounds to appear in international Playboy editions, as part of an industry-wide practice known as ‘Pay For Play’.
Blacklisted
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As we dig deeper, we find that many of these magazines are no longer in circulation and are only available to purchase online – raising questions about whether anyone is actually buying them.
Many of the models claim they paid huge amounts of money – or were pressured into taking more explicit content – under the illusion that appearing in one of these magazines could be career-defining.
But our investigation suggests in many cases they were little more than online PDFs, likely seen by very few people.
We also learn how Luis is charging models thousands to appear in other magazines, which we reveal he self-publishes and amount to little more than a PDF booklet available for online download, for a fee that appears to go directly to him.
We contacted Luis multiple times for comments but have never heard back.
We also reveal how Playboy told its international licensees to blacklist Luis in April 2019 after allegations of ‘pay-to-play’ were brought to their attention – a full year before his tour of the UK, where he arranged so-called ‘Playboy’ shoots with Emilie and many of the other models we spoke to.
How to report a sexual assault
Playboy said: “When Playboy has become aware that certain photographers have engaged in pay-to-play practices, such as when it learned of [Luis] in April of 2019, it has acted without hesitation in support of women and directed the licensee(s) to blacklist those specific photographers.
They added: “Playboy …expressly prohibits its international publishing licensees … from accepting content from photographers or models on a pay-to-play basis.”
This revelation that Luis was still touting his alleged Playboy connections to meet and shoot with models a year after being blacklisted is a grim reminder of how little protection there is for the women working in an industry rife with exploitation and abuse.
Devastatingly, this lack of regulation becomes even more evident as our investigation continues, as we reveal levels of exploitation we could never have predicted.
The first four episodes of the Bunny Trap, produced by Novel, are available on all Podcast platforms now. The remaining episodes will be released weekly on Tuesdays.
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