"I'M NO WHORE!"

Do you remember that scene in the movie European Vacation when the Griswold's were in France, and a naked photo of Ellen Griswold surfaced on a wall in France because their camera was stolen? That naked photo was promoting some sort of sex film or something, right? Well, that kind of, sort of happened to recent Columbia University grad Carolyn Giles. It turns out; Giles, who modeled to help pay her tuition at Columbia, is suing Volvo, Hertz, and Ford Models agency, claiming in a new lawsuit that they took her for a ride, using some of her photos without permission and making her out to look like a professional Swedish escort. According to Giles' lawyer, the photos look like something you'd see in the old yellow pages directories under escort service, and it made his client look sleazy!

30-year-old Giles is accusing Ford Models of letting Volvo and Hertz 'hijack' her image and use it worldwide, even though she was paid only a one-time use fee to promote Volvo's S40 model. Giles is suing for....get ready for this!.....$23 million! She got wind of her international exposure from an ex who was living in Argentina. Giles stated, "He thought he had seen my photo in a Hertz ad there. Then I found out that Volvo was using my picture for different car models in 30 countries." Hertz also used her picture in ads and in a report to the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

 Here's the best part of this story; Giles was most shocked to find her image on a website called Fast Impressions with a headline that read: "Spend the night with a Swedish model of your choice!" The caption under her picture read: "Rev Up Your Love Life." Hello, Ellen Griswold! Giles' lawyer said that the photo duplication is a no-go! He also went onto say, "I can't use Julia Roberts' picture and advertise soap! They're using her photos as if they owned her!"

 Giles, a Florida native who's modeled since she was 18, just received her bachelor's degree in psychology from Columbia University. So, basically, Fords is not dealing with the regular dumb models that they usually can get one over on. Giles was paid $1,000 for one photo shoot that was to result in pictures for Volvo's S40 model. She said that she tried to get Ford to enforce her contract, but she got the runaround. After getting nowhere fast with Ford, she said that she did her own investigation and found out all of her information using Google's reverse images.

Personally, I feel that once you're a model and you do a photo shoot and sign all that paperwork, you should expect that your photos will be used everywhere. That's just the nature of the modeling business. So what that your photo ended up on an escort website? Does it mean that you’re the escort? Does that mean you have to sleep with all kinds of men? What if it did? She would pay off her school loans three times as fast! Just saying! I have to say good luck on getting that $23 million, but I don't think you'll get it! Plus, now you’re getting nationwide exposure because of this silly lawsuit! Wait! Am I going to get into trouble for using her pics in my blog?