Two Day Magazine

By: Mia Bencivenga

Get-Rich-Quick schemes are not a new concept.  After all, isn’t the “American Dream” the hope that one day, through hard work and determination, we will become so disgustingly rich that we will be able to afford to buy our dream house, and then turn around and sell that dream house for a profit?

If we get to skip the hard work and determination part, well, that’s even better now, isn’t it?  Unfortunately, there is usually some kind of shady business attached to these get schemes.  

Said “shady business” can be a number of things: from stealing your four-year-old’s identity (giving them bad credit before they are even able to pronounce “life ruining debt”), to soliciting your dog to buy the latest and greatest Frisbee (it smells like a squirrel AND it throws itself!), these get rich schemers will stop at nothing to “make” a quick buck.

But perhaps no business is shadier then that of the extortionist.  Their goal is to blackmail you into giving them money, and lots of it.  The tricky thing about these extortionists is that they can at first appear to be many things, an employee, a pal, or even a lover.

Especially a lover.

Mix in one of these get rich schemers with a crowd full of impulsive celebrities, and you’ve got yourself the potential for one hell of an E! True Hollywood Story.

We all know how it will go.  There is some sort of rich male celebrity/politician who can’t keep it in his pants.  Despite the fact that he is married with children, he must sex up anything that moves.  The women he sexes up can be anything from Harvard educated interns to the night shift waitress at the International House of Pancakes.  

I will admit, occasionally these women are right in bringing these men and their ludicrous acts to light.

However, there is a type of woman who makes her living off of being a money/fame succubus.  They use their feminine wiles to get into these men’s lives, and then proceed to drink them dry of whatever dignity/money/children they had.   If that wasn’t enough, these women are then awarded with fifteen minutes of fame, and for those fifteen minutes, these women and their stories are coveted by every major news provider and magazine.  This girl is what professionals call “a gold digger.”

Because what is more news worthy than a story about a man who cheats?  You know, it’s crazy because it is such a rarity in our pop culture.  Why, I can’t recall the last time I heard a story about a man cheating!  Hmmm…I think his name was something like TigerJesseArnoldAnthony WoodsJamesSchwarzeneggerWeiner?

The latest celebrity to be caught in this compromising situation is a man named, Ashton Kutcher.  Now, I’m not going to pass judgment on Mr. Kutcher, considering I don’t know the man and I don’t know his personal business; and I certainly don’t know if he is doing the naughty tango with anyone other than his wife, the beautiful Demi Moore.

However, regardless of his presumed innocence, the allegations against him are fairly outrageous.  According to unreliable sources, Ashton has a nasty habit of having private naked hot tub parties.  He has his friends hand pick the ladies from a dance floor, where they are boozed up, placed in a hot tub, and sooner or later sexed up.

Oh the humanity!  How disgusting, to do this to these young, naïve girls!

Not so.  Apparently, these girls know exactly what they are doing.  This particular club claims that they only let in the prettiest girls, and these girls want to get a little rich and famous action.  Everyone is happy, the men get their sex, and the girls get a ridiculously wealthy sugar daddy.

Well, one of these girls, a Miss Sara Leal, is not content to simply be another sugar baby.  In fact, according to a childhood friend, Sara has always counted on using her looks to get her the lifestyle she’s always wanted.

And how is she to get this lifestyle?  Why, she wants a measly $250,000 to spill the dirty details of her sexual rendezvous with Ashton (which by the way, took place on he and his wife’s sixth wedding anniversary).  

She will also accept the same amount from Ashton’s camp to get her to shut up.  

Am I the only one who is feeling a little uneasy by the upfront and business like nature this is taking on?  Last time I checked, this little act is called “extortion”, which is also “illegal.”  

Regardless of whether or not this little act is legally or morally acceptable, it is certainly becoming very prevalent in our popular culture.  With every one of these scandals, there is a woman who is given a lot of money, airtime, and in some cases, a column in the New York Times.  

It seems as though, as time goes on and more of these scandals appear, that women see this as a viable way to get rich quick.  Since it is so common, the level of shame associated with these women is remarkably low.  

It’s an interesting paradox.  A woman who sleeps with a celebrity for his money and fame is celebrated.  A woman who sleeps with a man for money is a prostitute and is seen as morally vile.

Regardless of what you think of women who sell their bodies (in one way or another) and their moral status, we have to start examining our moral beliefs as a culture, and whether anyone who “got rich quick” should be celebrated.

Because when it becomes the norm, don’t be surprised when your daughter wants to write her “future career” report on Mildred Baena.

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twoday magazine wants to know: What do you think about women who sleep with famous men for fame and money? Should we blame them? Shouldn’t they use the weapons in their arsenal or is it extortion? Facebook your thoughts to twoday magazine’s page!