Shady offers They lure women onto yachts - what happens there is unclear
Young models and actresses are paid to party on luxury yachts. It's a world full of money, power and abuse. A Swiss actress talks to blue News about such requests.
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- A new buzzword is trending on social media: "yacht girls".
- Young women drinking and dancing on the deck of luxury yachts. They are often young actresses and models who are paid to do this.
- The problem is that the women are often harassed and, in the worst cases, abused.
- Actress Anja Andersen talks about one such request and explains why some young actresses find such an offer appealing.
They drink champagne and dance in bikinis on the deck of luxury yachts. You can find countless videos and pictures like this on social media under the hashtag #yachtgirls. The young women seem to be doing well.
What many people don't know is that "yacht girls" are not just a trend on Instagram and TikTok, the young women in them are often models and actresses who are paid to party on luxury yachts. But what happens on these yachts when the cameras are off usually remains hidden.
Term first appeared at the Cannes Film Festival in 2012
The term "yacht girls" gained notoriety in 2012 during the Cannes Film Festival. An investigation by American journalist Dana Kennedy revealed that young models were "placed" on the yachts of wealthy men for a high fee, often scantily clad and solely for the entertainment of the guests.
"Yachting" is basically nothing more than an upscale word for prostitution at sea. The problem is that the women involved are usually not professional escorts, but young actresses and models. They are lured on board not only with money, but above all with valuable contacts.
Requests also come via reputable platforms
Anja Andersen is a freelance actress in Switzerland and Germany. This summer, she received an inquiry from an unknown production company. At first glance, it appears to be a normal offer. "The email also came in via a reputable platform for actors," says Andersen.
In the email, the stranger writes: "The whole thing will take place on a yacht from Miami to Freeport in the Bahamas and back again." Women from Germany aged between 18 and 30 are specifically being sought for the job.
She continues: "A movie will be shot and lots of photos will be taken." If Andersen is interested and would like more information, she should send her an email back.
"I had to smile a little when I received the request. It sounded so dubious," says Andersen. She wrote back anyway: "I was wondering exactly what the shoot was about."
Participants must be "completely healthy and mentally stable"
A short time later, she receives a second message. It contains a lot of information and requirements that the women have to fulfill. Among other things, the participants must be "positive and open-minded girls who are easy to work with and pleasant to deal with." They must also be "completely healthy and mentally stable."
The woman explains that a series is being filmed on the yacht. Each episode will last 30-45 minutes. "We expect this to be a 'time of my life' experience and we will do our best to make it exactly that."
They will anchor outside Freeport for four days and "visit the Lucayas, the indigenous people of the Bahamas, during this time." There they will take photos of all the girls together with the Lucayas.
"The episodes will be released on a streaming service that is only available to paying VIP members," the email continues. The woman is unable to say how much the salary will be at this stage, but she promises that "no one will be disappointed."
Various contractual conditions are listed at the very end. Among other things:
"I quickly realized that this job could have been dangerous and that I wanted nothing to do with it," says Andersen. "Various points in this email are totally bizarre. For example, the topless shoot, the shoot with the indigenous people and that you have to be mentally and physically healthy." She would never have paid attention to such an email in her spam folder.
Young actresses hope for a career breakthrough
Andersen explains that she can understand why young actresses find such an offer appealing for the first time: "Being able to work in the Bahamas sounds very tempting for the first time. Who wouldn't want to do that?"
Young actresses often find themselves in awkward situations: "All my friends have been in situations that they weren't comfortable with." And: "You get into such a situation more quickly than you would think or expect of yourself."
When you then read - as in the email above - that it's a series, you always think about whether this is the big leap in your career. "I hope that many people realized in the second email that it wasn't a serious request and turned it down," says Andersen.