Group to protest 'Pimp's and Ho's' party By Jill Young Miller Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 05/17/07 By JILL YOUNG MILLER jymiller@ajc.com Protesters plan to gather Friday night outside an Atlanta club that's hosting an event advertised as a "Pimp's and Ho's" party. Meanwhile, Fever nightclub's marketing director, Tucker Kroll, said he wasn't even aware of the ads until a newspaper reporter called him. He said a promoter that Fever hires to draw people to the club, not the club itself, was responsible for the Internet ads that put a unique "twist" on the night. "I'm not going to ask him to stop," Kroll said Thursday. "It's a day before the party." The ads, from Poplife Entertainment in Atlanta, quickly sparked the formation of a group — Advocates Against the Exploitation of Young Women — to protest at the club at 1789 Cheshire Bridge Road. Erik Voss, a protest organizer, said he and others will protest also because Girls Gone Wild, a company that films women willing to bare their breasts and kiss each other for things like tank tops and trucker hats, is hosting the evening. Footage could wind up on one of the "real girls" videos the company puts out. "They have been known to exploit young women," Voss said. Kroll called the event "just a harmless party." He said, "There's no ill intention to demean girls or anything like that." Barry Roesler, a spokesman for Girls Gone Wild, said Thursday he had no comment. In September, Joe Francis and the California-based company he built on "Girls Gone Wild" videos pleaded guilty to violating federal laws designed to prevent sexual exploitation of children and agreed to pay fines totaling $2.1 million. Under a deal with the Justice Department, Francis agreed to personally pay a $500,000 fine to settle charges in Los Angeles that he failed to keep records of the ages and identities of women in his films, according to news reports. As a result, Francis said in a statement, footage of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct appeared in at least two DVDs he released. Voss said he expects from 20 to 50 people to turn out for the protest. "We're going to create awareness about the problem of the pimping of young women and the derogatory term that they use — which is 'hos' — for the young women that they exploit," he said. Among protesters may be Mayor Shirley Franklin's policy adviser on women's issues, Stephanie Davis. Davis said the event is "just one more example of how our culture is glamorizing prostitution and main-streaming the behavior so that the buying and selling of bodies becomes acceptable." Hernan Piraquive, president of Poplife, said "it's all about having a good time. It's like Halloween. People dress up as monsters." That doesn't make them monsters, he said. Piraquive posted the "pimp's and ho's party" ads. "You can't make everyone happy," he said. "But I respect their right to protest. They have freedom of speech just like I do." Said Voss, "We're using our free speech rights to call attention to these events as glamorizing something that is absolutely abhorrent."

Only if he's sure to get his picture taken and in the paper.

He's probably digging out his pimp hat right now. I doubt he'll be there to protest.

if women don't like the term ho; they don't have to attend the party. they are not being forsed into anything. the club, and promoter have the right to do what they want in the confines of that club. al sharpton might show up, not to protest, but to get his crunk on.

Only if a white person owns the club or is somehow involved

doubtful. why do people look for these things? how bored do you have to be to search for things to bash others. sharpton gives people plenty to bash him about on his own,without looking.

Well there is a double standard in America that was brought on by the craving for political correctness.

He'll probably be in the VIP section.

Of course he won't be there. It's OK for a black person to use derogatory terms to refer to his own people or others, according to Sharpton. Al Sharpton is a racist bigoted hypocrite. His only goal in life is to build the divide between blacks, and everyone else especially whites. He does little to help his own people, or to encourage the young people to get out of the "gangsta" lifestyle and become productive citizens. So called "reverend" Alfred Sharpton is certainly no man of God. He's a man of hate. Why is he still on the Syndication One radio network. Should we refer to Al Sharpton as a "Greek Homo" or as a "Diamond Merchant"? These are his words.