Nobody is understanding the real story behind the downfall of RentBoy. Authorities have just unemployed thousands of young young men and screwed landlords on getting paid their rent. Families are ruined by all the escorts going back to their mother’s basements because the party is over. That’s a walk of shame nobody wants to do… I think what is most sad is they robbed aging homosexuals from romantic love making that they were able to find on this social media platform. But let’s be realistic, darlings, the website may be over but the worlds oldest profession can never die. It will only come back stronger, more profitable and younger looking with the help of the worlds best plastic surgeons.”
— Michael Lucas in a note posted to his Facebook page in response to yesterday’s arrest of Jeffrey Hurant, CEO of Rentboy and six of his employees during a sting operation
Guy068
I hope he’s being sarcastic. Can a successful businessman be that big a dumbass?
Robert Wilson
Shut up, Meg.
Tobi
Yeah, right, because RentMen, who sensibly domicile do themselves in Bulgaria or RentMasseur registered in Amsterdam won’t immediately pick up the business? It was idiotic of RentBoy to list the business as NYC entity.
lkeels
@Guy068: He’s absolutely right. Do you have any idea how many young men will be homeless in the next few days because of this. Not to mention potential suicides and murders because they are on the street and unable to keep a roof over their heads? Regardless of prudish beliefs, sex work is a legitimate way of earning a living, and denying so many their income in one sweep is highly dangerous. Many of these young men were probably already in vulnerable situations, having been kicked out of their homes, etc. This just makes their lives significantly worse. And seriously, who gains from this closure? The government, no one else. No lives have been saved, no terrorist threat diminished. Having Homeland Security resources used for something like this is shameful.
Rangerboy
Aging Homosexuals??? Is he trying to say that only the old, fat and ugly need rentboy??Does this mean, that the young, good looking hunks never or hardly find company on such sites and that the old, fat and ugly have no other means to find company??? What an idiot!
Brian JC Kneeland
I think he is wrong – most won’t go back to mom’s basement but out on the street!
David Painter
Barbara
oilburner
Speaking of plastic surgery and not the best wtf did he do to his face he fucked it up with all that plastic surgery
Anthony Martini
Shouldn’t our resources be going after Isis or something of that nature? Very disappointed.
Simon Hussey
This is dreadful news. How will Anti gay pundits and Politicians found boyfriends / luggage assistants now ?
Patrick Healey
What BS.
Lee Morris
I want to see the client list, not to worry some other person will pick up the baton and the people who have to buy their sex will still be able to.
Cam
@Anthony Martini:
People like Lindsay Graham were probably terrified that it would get hacked and demanded the raid before the accounts became public.
Major D. Easthagen III
Is this really the piece needed for the DA on their resume – took down the leader of gay male escorts to clean up New York???? Questioning if someone in NY got a bad rent boy recently…
Realitycheck
What a pile of bull…. plenty of other escorts sites on the web, I am sure all
the escorts are moving on really fast LOL
And I can hardly believe older men can get a romantic experience from some one emptying their wallet, right after pounding them and running out on them as fast as they can.
Alexis Barros
Is gonna save them all and employ the escorts in his porn company?!
seasailor
Obviously duck mouth had shares in it.
Arlo B. Worman
Oh god good. The spread of diseases from gay slut whores has finally ended, now the real fight on disease control can take place…
Dwayne Mitchell
Very well-said Michael Lucas!
Mykaels
Rentboy did not create prostitution, it provided a platform. Other platforms exist and the prostitutes will move on, the ‘Johns’ will move on, the government will pat itself on the back for a worthless “well done” that they can now use for their future re-election campaigns, and all will be as it was.
If people become homeless because of this, it’s because they have not heard of adam4adam or craigslist.
Giuseppe
This was likely about money laundering and not prostitution. The arrests will allow Feds to get at the books and see what the “business” was really up to.
juliansorl
Because nothing makes you feel better about yourself than having to pay someone for the “boyfriend experience”.
juliansorl
Living in NYC, I would love to see who’s on that list. The NYTimes article really went to town on this little company, complete with photos of the perps and a link to a site where the johns can post reviews – amazing reading especially when the John has a bad experience and then the Call Boy gets to respond back and then you get to see it from his point of view. One escort responds back, “well he was over 300lbs…” Don’t know whom to feel more sorry for? Those reduced to selling themselves or those who feel that this is the only way to get the “boy friend experience”.
RIGay
OH MY GOD!!!! First Donald Trump, now Rent Boy!!! What in the Hell is the GOP going to do to plan for the next convention??!?!!?!
Matthew Farris
Am I missing something? Prostitution is illegal. End of story.
David Mack
GOP was the BIGGEST Support of them, So They want to take a moral High road…??
Nathaniel McManus
I honestly think that it shouldn’t matter what happens between two consenting adults- you pay the doctor, the therapist, the bartender for their services too. You pay for their skill, time, and expertise, what’s the difference?
notevenwrong
@Cam, I think you are right.
Some powerful people were shitting themselves after the Ashley Madison fiasco and made them shut down Rentboy before someone could hack it and make their names public.
Deondré R Parker
There are other sites. The boys will be fine.
Mark Ilvonen
I imagine most Rentboys have a list of clients they can fall back on. They’ll manage to pay their bills.
David Sutton
I must say, this is a brilliant retort!
Arlo B. Worman
Scotty Be
some one had it shut down before it was hacked.
Kangol
@juliansorl: Glad you also caught how detailed the New York Times article was.
I thought that it was over the top, especially given how vague that paper can be about other basic news facts, like when it went after Hillary Clinton based on false information (fed by GOP Rep. Trey Gowdy’s committee?) and claimed she was under “criminal investigation.” It would not say where it got this wrong info, and waited days to retract it. Yet the paper was very precise, listed the names and ages of everyone being arrested in this RentBoy bust, and seemed almost gleeful in reporting how it was taken down.
None of this makes sense. Was someone high-level afraid of their (his?) name getting out there, as happened with Ashley Madison? Some bad d*ck? Really strange, and nothing Homeland Security should ever have been involved with.
Scott Redner
What? Now gay for pay porn workers and regular gay porn workers will actually have to go out and get a real job now? Poor things, welcome to reality folks… Smh…
jwtraveler
@Arlo B. Worman: If you really believe that, you’re as stupid as you are hateful.
jwtraveler
I’d love to see the client list made public and see how many Republican politicians, anti-gay clergymen and other public homophobes are on the list.
jwtraveler
@Nathaniel McManus: Logic, reason and intelligent analysis have no place in the arena of public discourse, not in this country anyway. Just look at the popularity of Donald Trump.
juliansorl
Homeland security being involved, seems to point to the possibility that information on the site could be used to blackmail someone in the government? Wouldn’t be the first time it’s happened.
Hector Rivera Jr.
The saddest news?
What’s sad is our community not giving support to go out and do better then to be an escort!
There should be no encouragement to escort but to find a way to get an education and obtain an honorable job.
Is that wrong or hard to do?
As a gay man I don’t want to be expected to be a male escort. That’s really sad!
Be unique and start building our community honorably
Dustin Lee
You can choose any profession as an adult. That your choice. But everything Michael said was stupid, and not well thought out.
juliansorl
Has to be related to the Holly Madison fiasco? Couldn’t just be a coincidence?
Nathaniel McManus
Brothels should be an esteemed part of society just as the church, hospital, the mosque, and the synagogue
Tommy Ogletree
I am sorry, but there is nothing sad about that. Stop being a wh*re and go get a real job like a normal person.
MarionPaige
@Tobi: “It was idiotic of RentBoy to list the business as NYC entity.”
That really is the point.
After Rentboy.com became successful and had the means, it makes no sense that it didn’t locate it’s offices in (and re-incorporate in) a city / country where prostitution was legal. HOWEVER,
The same charge can be leveled now against porn companies paying models to perform sex acts for the production of adult content in NYC.
Mark Holbert
Not fair they don’t pay taxes on all the money they rake in…
moldisdelicious
@lkeels: @Hector Rivera Jr.:
Thank you. This is only revealing how warped these guys minds are like that porn director. Some of these guys seem to have no hope for themselves and want us that want better to join them.
OhHellNo
Hookers have to get real jobs? Surely we’re in the end times. Next thing you know, a man with the face of a duck will think he’s a spokesman for the gay community. I mean, really!
moldisdelicious
@moldisdelicious:
That comment was for Hector Rivera jr, not lkeels. Don’t know why or how lkeels git quoted.
Bad Ass Biker
@seasailor: Duck mouth! I love it.
derek mcgillicuddy
The Department of Hopeless Security and the NYPD got interested in this case, after almost 20 years in business, when they realised how much they could seize from their bank accounts. It is shameful that those people responsible for promoting justice in our country are just greedy thieves themselves.
Every one of you who reads this now should write your congressman/senator and demand that forfeiture laws be outlawed for the corruption in the ranks of law enforcement if causes! I wrote Michael Bennet already (no, not the choreographer of Chorus Line & Dreamgirls you nutty queens!).
mcflyer54
Think of all the gay hating gay-4-pay rentboys who now won’t have money for their drugs and will have to listen to their baby momma whine about getting a real job. Based on Lucas’ logic then they should leave the mafia alone too because they’re providing a service and making a living for their families. I personally don’t believe that prostitution should be illegal – I think it should be legalized with controls just like any other adult (alcohol, tobacco, gambling, etc.) business. However, with very few exceptions, it is still illegal and anyone involved is aware of the when they sign on. My on opinion on this matter is that it’s really not about the prostitution, it’s about the potential money laundering and, in some cases, blackmail. A lot of users of RentBoy (buyers & sellers) should be relieved that it wasn’t hacked like Ashley Madison.
Jessie Munguia
Wtf? Are you trying to glamorize prostitution?
Avery Alvarez
Eww.
The rentboy thing suck, yeah,
but everything about this comment, plus Lucas himself -eww.
“But let’s be realistic, darlings, the website may be over but the worlds oldest profession can never die. It will only come back stronger, more profitable and younger looking with the help of the worlds best plastic surgeons.””
Plastic surgery didn’t help you in “younger looking” department, you 50 year old mattress.
Clark35
@David Sutton: No it’s not.
Jennifer Trent
Sad? That is a stretch! I know lots of people on it and they have already moved on to other sites. So try not to lose sleep over the sadness!
tricky ricky
@lkeels: with the amount of money involved this is bigger than just boy whores.
QJ201
Translation:
“My Stars will no longer be able to supplement their income on Rentboy”
Doughosier
George Carlin said, sex is the only thing it’s legal to give away but illegal to sell. It’s another example of religion infiltrating the laws we live by.
adrianjurado310
They also might have ruined the one chance to pay an attractive man to speak to me. we shall prevail.
Brian Egly
Honestly, who cares! Who cares what two consenting adults do behind closed doors. Peraonally, I would never pay for sex…it’s not my thing. But if someone CHOOSES to do so, WHO CARES! No judgement here. Same goes with pot. I don’t smoke it, but if an adult CHOOSES to do so….WHO CARES! They are both illegal….but in my opinion should not be. That being said, anyone who deals with illegal “substances” knows there are reprocussions if caught. Personally, I think there are WAY more important issues that need attention…issues that affect the country/world as a whole (ie hunger, unemployment, poor education, poaching, pollution just to name a few). So, in summary, who FUCKING cares about people paying for sex. It’s the OLDEST profession on the planet! If someone wants to pay for an anonymous BJ….let them!
JodyBoy
Prostitution should be legal and regulated per health standards and I dislike stodgy prudes. It’s nobodys business who the johns and sex workers are.
Dustin Lee
What’s romantic about paying 300 dollars an hour? And I’m sure my mom would be ok with me moving back in to establish a life outside of hooking. And what’s wrong with a job that offers benefits and a 401k? Let’s be realistic… I’m guessing less than half report their escort funds on their taxes… Which is also illegal.
lykeitiz
This doesn’t pass the smell test. Rentboy has advertised and been at that address for 15 years. Nothing about them is new news. I’m leaning toward the rumors that too many “high-ups” were worried about an Ashley Madison type hack, & so they sent in the govt to snatch all the files for themselves.
Tobi
@lykeitiz: What “files”? You didn’t have to sign up to contact a “rentboy”, did you?
Glenn Longre
Perhaps it’s time for them to find real jobs…
KevinG
@Giuseppe: I don’t think it was about money laundering. I spoke with an expert yesterday who said the money laundering charge in this case is the usual sort of piling on charges. They do that with any sort of charges when accompany is allegedly engaged in illegal activities. It would be a racketeering charge if multiple companies were involved. But the money laundering charge would not stand on its own.
@jwtraveler: I don’t think there’s much of a client list. The escorts usually post their contact info and the johns contact them outside of Rentboy. Very few use Rentboy’s internal communication system which is slow and unreliable.
@MarionPaige: Pornography is generally treated as protected under the First Amendment. California has a state Supreme Court ruling protecting the production of pornography. Not sure about New York explicitly, though.
@derek mcgillicuddy: Yes, I believe you’re right. I believe this case is mostly about asset forfeiture. Rentboy has $1.5 million in the bank. Under asset forfeiture laws, the agencies involved can split that even if no one ever goes to trial. Asset forfeiture laws are a scam that need to be abolished or revamped.
Truth_from_Hudson_NY
What an incoherent “news” story. More self-indulgent drama about prostitution and political connections. Could be Italy in 1964. Could be anyplace, anytime. Some people will talk about anything.
TampaBayTed
@Glenn Longre: A real job? Taking orders at Jack-off in the Box? Most “real” jobs are low-paying drudgery. I guess I admire the sexual prowess of any male who can get it up even when the client is a troll.
Tackle
@MarionPaige: You make a good point about after them becoming successful, and not relocating their company to a city/country where prostitution was legal. I heard they were bringing in over 10 million a year.
But I had to laugh when he stated, ” it robs aging homosexuals from romantic love making.” He cannot be serious with this statement???
Amaurys Arias
Instead of hoping this kids find a sustainable life .. Porn and prostitution is not forever… people are here defending the use of our youth a sex toys…
Jay A. Scaramazzo
Put your energy into changing the laws. Not breaking them.
SonOfKings
What in the world is wrong with his face and lips?
K Patrick McCarthy
Looks like craigslist traffic will increase
moldisdelicious
@TampaBayTed:
What are your views on drug dealers then?
David Flores
This country is so backwards. So it’s okay to get paid to have sex and be filmed but not okay to get paid to have sex in private. Just doesn’t make any sense to me.
MarionPaige
The reason the production of adult content (porn) is criminalized (where it is criminalized) is because the production of adult content involves paying people to perform sex acts. Paying people to perform sex acts falls under “prostitution”.
The reason California was the center for adult producers IS because California has specifically decriminalized the production of adult content. Although, prostitution is still illegal in California.
FOR YEARs Now, a lot of adult producers have taken to producing content in areas where the production of porn is criminalized AND, most of them have gotten away with it UP TILL NOW. However, rentboy.com also got away with it for 18 years.
Jensen Wong
“aging homosexuals” lmfao
seaguy
@Jessie Munguia: He is just pointing out some lesser mentioned facts.
Daniel L Hatchett
What….a douche!!
Michael1500
Seriously, what’s up with Michael Lucas? Every time I look at him, I think of Michael Jackson—- it’s like he’s neither a man nor a woman. Look at him in this picture: collagen-injected lips that are purposely pursed like a cover girl model. Does he actually think this is flattering? All he needs is a long black wig and some Betty-Boop red lipstick. Actually I think that’s what he really wants.
o.codone
I don’t think there’s a client list. If you paid the rentboy in cash, why would there be a paper trail? And it was reckless of Rentboy to have servers right here in NYC. Simple enough to locate them in a country/city where business is legal. Waste of a good business model.
Meanwhile I have to laugh (tragically) that the USA is offended by the immorality of prostitution. Cut the limbs off of unborn babies and sell their organs, yet prostitution is morally repugnant. Americans are very confused people, seriously confused.
BGinBigD
WTF Miss Lucas!! Let’s have another quote showing your complete stupidity. I’m sure you’re really concerned with the lives of not only escorts (prostitutes), but the poor elderly queens as well. At least we know you definitely can relate to “the world’s oldest profession”. STFU, please!