Berlusconi sex scandal: Showgirls complain of losing jobs
By IANSTuesday, February 1, 2011
LONDON/ROME - Small-time actresses and showgirls, who are at the centre of the prostitution scandal involving Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, have complained of losing their works because of the notoriety of the case, a media report here said.
Berlusconi, 74, is alleged to have paid “several” women for sex during wild “bunga bunga” parties at his palazzo outside Milan — a charge that almost all of them have denied, the Daily Telegraph reported Monday.
Several of the women said they are no longer receiving offers to pose for fashion shoots, feature in promotional campaigns or work as “image girls” at corporate events. One of the women, Barbara Guerra, 32, a men’s magazine model and reality television contestant, said she recently received a call cancelling her appearance at a sporting event.
“No one said outright that it was because of my involvement in the scandal, but I’m almost sure that was the reason,” she said.
Miriam Loddo, another of the women named in the investigation, said she had barely been out of her house in the last month and a half. “I’ve lost a heap of work,” she said.
Similar complaints were made by Barbara Fagioli, 24, a former Playboy model, who said she had received virtually no calls from agents since the scandal broke, the daily said.
Prosecutors in Milan want Berlusconi to face trial on allegations that he slept with one, possibly two, under age prostitutes, and that in one case he abused his office by leaning on police to release the girl on theft charges. He has denied the allegations.
Paying for sex with a prostitute who is under the age of 18 is a serious offence in Italy. Both the girls were 17 at the time of the alleged encounters.
