Last year, the God of Tabloids grew bored with the octo-mom, Jon and Kate, and yes, even Paris, so He snapped his ink-stained fingers and created Hochstein v. Hansen.
And it was good: A Miami plastic surgeon nicknamed the "Boob God." A furious Norweigian Playboy model. Nearly nude photos. A $500,000 legal settlement. It had everything!
This week, the Almighty Patron of Sleaze decided we needed more. (Hey, it has been a couple of days since the Kardashians have done anything interesting.) So now you can add a famous Hollywood madame and a counter-suit to the deliciously trashy mix.
In case you haven't kept up with your New York Post subscription, here's the background.
In 2006, Dr. Leonard Hochstein, a renowned Miami plastic surgeon nicknamed the "Boob God," posted photos of one Monica Hansen on his website. Ms. Hansen, a busty former Miss Norway, Playboy model, and Maxim magazine's 2006 "Woman of the Year," was a client and briefly his girlfriend, according to the good doctor.
Hansen sued, claiming she never gave Hochstein permission to use her photos in his advertisements. A Los Angeles jury awarded her a $564,555 default judgment in July.
Now Hochstein is striking back. He has a hearing in L.A. next week to ask a judge to set aside the award. And he is armed with what looks like a damning email from Hansen to Michelle Braun, a notorious Boca Raton madame who was arrested this spring and charged with running a multimillion-dollar prostitution ring.
In an email forwarded to New Times that appears to be between Hansen and Braun on November 17, 2008, titled "Re: Photo Shoot," Hansen seems to admit that "yes honey I did let Lenny use the pictures."
Hochstein sent New Times a statement about the upcoming hearing:
This entire situationhas caused me both personal and professional hardships. What bothers me the most
is that somebody whom I believed to be a good person and whom I thought was a
friend turned out to be not only a liar but a person whose morals and values are
questionable at best. Once the judgment is lifted, I will be able to have my
side of the story told and show that I did nothing wrong as well as show the
world the type of person Monica truly is. I have faith in our legal system and
am confident that in the end justice will be served.
