LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Stop that $1 million check: It turns out the call girl linked to Eliot Spitzer had already shed her clothes for "Girls Gone Wild" as an 18-year-old while partying in Miami, Florida, the video company's founder said Tuesday.
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Ashley Alexandra Dupre stars in seven "Girls Gone Wild" videos made when she was 18.

Joe Francis reached out to Ashley Alexandra Dupre, now 22, with an offer of $1 million to appear in a non-nude spread for his company's new magazine, plus a chance to join the "Girls Gone Wild" tour bus, his company announced Tuesday.

But Francis said someone had a revelation at the Tuesday morning staff meeting: Did anyone think to check the archives?

They did, he said -- and there she was.

"It'll save me a million bucks," Francis said Tuesday. "It's kind of like finding a winning lottery ticket in the cushions of your couch."

Francis said at that point, his offer was off the table: "We actually had been dealing with her rep," he said. "Our [offer] was the real deal. We just never made the connection."

He said his employees got to work on pulling the footage and planned to offer it on the Web site by Tuesday evening, with a free sampling on the front page and the rest available with a $29.95 monthly subscription.
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Dupre's attorney, Don D. Buchwald, declined comment.

According to a "Girls Gone Wild" press release, Dupre visited Miami in 2003 to celebrate her 18th birthday. After fighting with a friend and getting thrown out of her hotel, Dupre found a nearby "Girls Gone Wild" bus, the company said.

She signed legal papers and spent a full week on the bus, filming seven full-length tapes that included nudity and same-sex encounters, according to the company.

"I personally ended up buying her a Greyhound bus ticket back home to North Carolina," Francis said.

Francis returned to California last week after being sentenced to time served and fines in Florida in a case involving filming underage girls. He still faces trial on federal tax evasion charges that carry a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.

Dupre's public profile has skyrocketed since Spitzer, the New York governor, announced his resignation last week amid the prostitution scandal. He was accused of spending tens of thousands of dollars on prostitutes, including a February tryst with a call girl named "Kristen," since identified as Dupre.

Dupre's MySpace page was hit more than 5 million times in the days immediately after the scandal broke. Her musical efforts, including two songs posted at the music sharing site Aime Street, were listened to hundreds of thousands of times and played on national airwaves.

Hustler publisher Larry Flynt told AP Friday that he e-mailed Dupre offering her $1 million to appear nude in his magazine, but didn't sound optimistic that she would settle for that amount. Flynt suggested that by the time Dupre starts talking, she may be too big a media phenomenon for a simple magazine spread.

"She is no doubt going to do a book. There will probably be a movie," he said. "I think she is going to have so many offers coming in that it will probably be wishful thinking just to get in the door.

Thanks Rico for finding this article!

Girls, if you want to become a celeb in todays world, here's your role-model. Don't waste your time trying to hone your craft as a singer. Big media wants controversial pretty sluts, not talented artists.

"controversial sluts" Of course she is partly at fault here but, come on, Spitzer had a choice, you know. And why does it always amaze us that some women will sell themselves for the quick million? Women have been subjectified and exploited by the porn or "soft porn" in this case, industry for generations. I say go, girl, go! It's about time they wised up, got themselves some reps and made the money they deserve. I mean, moral standing aside, if porn is going to continue to be the billion dollar industry that it is due to high demand (purchased by those who would probably deny it! ) then at least have an even playing field. And she will be a "big media phenomenon" only because the press won't let the story die and the average joe will eat it up.

How else can you explain the success of show like Flavor of Love and other "slut" filled reality shows? If no one watched them, they wouldn't exist. Give the girl her due. She may be using her "assets" to the best of her ability and in this world that is called free enterprise.

uh... i think its called being a whore

an update to that news story: She apparently was 17 at the time of her GGW video whoring. So who knows what that'll mean.

Joe Francis gets indicted?

"So who knows what that'll mean."

It will mean even MORE undeserved publicity.

It will mean that Francis can't legally use, repackage or sell the footage he already has...which means the million dollar offer might go back on the table.

actualy there is a provision somewhere that says as long as there isnt sexual content then it falls under art and is leagal dont know about this footage though

"uh... i think its called being a whore"

And whores have been around since the dawn of time. My point was - why make this one whore anymore vilified than any other? Just because she's savvy enough to get more money than your average hooker on the street?

Ho's don't deserve limelight or windfall success that's based upon decadence. A savvy ho' is still a ho'.
Hollywood film directors would like us to believe otherwise, of course; witness the promotion of movies such as "Pretty Woman". Hollywood would glorify a turd if they could get away with it.
I wouldn't even doubt that they could relish the thought of producing a sensationalizing film based upon some of Ashley's adventures since the time she was seventeen.

"A savvy ho' is still a ho'."

I'd only call her savvy if she was the one who turned Spitzer in. Otherwise, publicity-wise she's just a lucky ho'.