Joe Francis Apologizes (Sort Of!) For Calling Jury That Convicted Him ‘Retarded’ And Saying They Should Be Shot
May 23 2013, Published 4:03 p.m. ET
Joe Francis is not very good at saying he is sorry.
The Girls Gone Wild creator, who recently conducted a shocking interview with The Hollywood Reporter where he slammed the jury that convicted him earlier this month on three counts of false imprisonment, one count of dissuading a witness from reporting and one count of assault likely to cause great bodily injury, calling them “mentally f-ing retarded” and saying they should be “lined up and shot,” issued a half-hearted apology on Thursday – and RadarOnline.com has the details.
In the interview, an admittedly intoxicated Francis ranted and raved about the jury system, issuing a series of profanities and death wishes toward them.
On Wednesday afternoon, one of the 12 jurors spoke to Gawker about Francis’ explosive interview.
“It's a little bizarre to have someone looking into a camera and suggesting you be shot, even if he has no idea what I look like since he never showed up at the trial. If anything, it reaffirms the decision we came to — unanimously, of course, after only about a day and half of deliberations — as one of the charges was directly related to the vague (and no so vague) threats he made against the victim he assaulted to keep her from filing a police report," the juror stated.
"I'm just thinking about all the nice, salt-of-the-earth people on that jury that Joe Francis is suggesting be shot. There were some older, middle-aged, retired women. There were four middle-aged men. Some women were in their 30's. All different races. I was the youngest."
In Francis’ vague and deflective “apology,” the convicted felon states that he “deeply regret the remarks attributed to” him in the interview, mentions that the interview was six hours and insinuates that the reporter intentionally left out all of the evidence he presented that prove that he is innocent and also left out a three hour interview with his lawyer.
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Francis maintains his innocence over five times in the brief statement, stating that he is not and has never been a violent person (though he was caught on camera attacking Playboy model Jayde Nicole in 2009), and also defends his “appalling” comments by saying that “anyone who has ever been wrongfully convicted of a crime that they did NOT commit would be as frustrated as I am.”
Do you think Joe Francis is really sorry? Read his full statement below and sound off!
"I deeply regret the remarks attributed to me in the interview with the Hollywood Reporter. They were hurtful and do not reflect my true feelings. While I disagree with the jury's verdict as I am completely innocent of the charges and intend to appeal, I was afforded a fair trial, and if I lose at the appellate level, I will reluctantly but fully accept the jury's verdict. This was a 6hour interview with the Hollywood reporter where I detailed to the reporter all of the evidence and why I believed the evidence showed I am 100% innocent The reporter also interviewed my attorney David Houston for over 3 hours, but failed to include one shred of evidence from the trial that proved beyond areasonable doubt my innocence. I did NOT commit a crime at all whatsoever. All that was publicized were my most intemperate remarks that were borne out offrustration but with no intent to cause anyone harm. I am not, nor have I ever been a violent person. My comments are appalling, but anyone who has ever been wrongfully convicted of a crime that they did NOT commit would be as frustrated as I am. I want to apologize to all the jurors, the court, the City Attorney and my attorneys for my comments that were manipulated by the media, and please know I am truly ashamed of my conduct. I am truly, truly sorry. I hope everyone will understand I was not being serious and that I fully and deeply apologize for my remarks."