8 Minutes - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

Discuss 8 Minutes Here!

[LIGirl]

I'm glad someone requested a new forum for this show because I'm interested to hear what others think about it.  I stumbled upon it because I'm a sucker for "The First 48" if there's nothing else interesting to watch.

 

I guess my main question is - how is this legal?  I thought even merely soliciting a prostitute is illegal and grounds for getting arrested.  Undercover cops nab prostitutes in stings from time to time; obviously it's not like the cops had any sexual contact with them before they could say, "Hands up!  You're under arrest!"  I know the pastor is a former police officer, but he's not now.  Does he have some kind of agreed upon arrangement with the local police or something?  I suppose I should just assume that it is somehow set up to be legal since it's airing on TV, but I'm really curious as to how.

 

I'm also wondering if there's a good amount of editing involved because how could every single pimp come looking for their prostitute within a span of only 8 minutes?  Is there a national prostitution law that they must check in with their pimps within 8 minutes?  I highly doubt that.  The deal is usually for a half hour or an hour of their "services", so wouldn't the pimp not come to check until that agreed upon time is over?  Plus, I thought the 8 minutes gimmick was just an average.  So, if they're playing around with the editing, I wish that they wouldn't.  You can keep the clock in the corner of the screen, but let it show the actual time, not the 8 minute timeclock.

Edited April 24, 2015 by LIGirl

[ShaNaeNae]

Yay! Someone else who watches it. I put in for this forum. I had recorded an episode a few weeks ago not really knowing what it was. I saw Houston in the description and right now I'm living in Houston so thought I'd record it. I finally watched that episode last Thursday and realized I was glued to the TV the whole time. So after that, I watched the other 2 episodes On Demand and put in to have my DVR record each new episode. I'm half way through last nights, will probably have to finish watching tonight since I need to leave for work in a few. 

 

But yes, LIGirl, I also have so many questions and still don't understand the 8 minutes theory. If he pays for 30 minutes, where does the 8 minutes come in? And as far as being from a legal standpoint, I have no clue either. I just figured it had something to do with him previously being in the force (did he retire?). I saw on Facebook, someone has a page to stop this show. This person who made the page is upset about him profiting off it or some other nonsense. 

 

My big question is, why doesn't he get adjoining rooms with the advocates? He tells the call girl his friend is coming to the room, and sometimes it's a few minutes, they've got to make sure the hall is clear. They're always carrying their purses with them to meet the victim (why?). Why not just get an adjoining room?

 

I like D'Lita (hate the name) and Stephanie I really feel for. The new girl Lexie shocked me when I first saw her. She looked straight up plucked out of a Delta Phi Gamma party. I also wonder with her because after she helped one girl escape and they were riding in the van to the treatment center, Lexie was just on her phone reading. Shouldn't she be talking to the victim? At least helping ease her mind or telling more of her story? It was weird.

[Enero]

I like D'Lita (hate the name) and Stephanie I really feel for. The new girl Lexie shocked me when I first saw her. She looked straight up plucked out of a Delta Phi Gamma party. I also wonder with her because after she helped one girl escape and they were riding in the van to the treatment center, Lexie was just on her phone reading. Shouldn't she be talking to the victim? At least helping ease her mind or telling more of her story? It was weird.

 

This is one reason why I believe this show is as staged as every other reality show out there. I don't doubt that the prostitutes are real, but the situation of them coming to the room to sit down and talk seems so fake. Would a real prostitute be so cool with having a personal chat with a guy who looks a little suspect right off the bat with the way he acts and dress and with a Bluetooth in his ear the entire time they are talking? I think they give some of these women a heads up when they arrive at the hotel about what they are doing and offer them X amount of dollars to go on camera to talk about their experience and "decide" if they want help. I also question the "8 minutes" stereotype and the fact that every single pimp comes looking for the prostitute within that time frame, sometimes less than that time frame.

 

The only prostitute I saw on the show that seemed to have a real reaction to the pastor was the young African-American girl whose face was blurred out and whom they tried to contact after filming and her phone had been disconnected and her picture taken off the sex website. She was all about business when she showed up. She immediately wanted to know the services he wanted, was very suspicious of the him and left the room almost immediately after finding out what he was up to.

 

Lastly I question the kind of "help" they are providing these women. When some have agreed to get help they either give them a phone number to a local shelter or drop them off at one, which IMO runs a higher risk of them falling back into the lifestyle again. Many of these women have serious issues that need addressing. Getting them off the street is just one minor step in a long journey they will need to take to get their lives on track. If the advocates manage to convince one of these women to leave the streets, that means they have a strong rapport with them and thus should IMO work with them through every step of their recovery process. Just driving them to the nearest shelter then patting themselves on the back deeming their work successful seems like a bit of a stretch.

[silverspoons]

This is one reason why I believe this show is as staged as every other reality show out there. I don't doubt that the prostitutes are real, but the situation of them coming to the room to sit down and talk seems so fake. Would a real prostitute be so cool with having a personal chat with a guy who looks a little suspect right off the bat with the way he acts and dress and with a Bluetooth in his ear the entire time they are talking? I think they give some of these women a heads up when they arrive at the hotel about what they are doing and offer them X amount of dollars to go on camera to talk about their experience and "decide" if they want help.

 

I also wonder because if the face is not blurred, the women had to have signed some sort of waiver. We see them walk in and walk out so when did they sign? I wonder if they are offered the $150 or maybe double for talking?

I would rather the show stage the 8 minute intervention of a women they have helped and then have the rest of the show about her story and getting help.

 

I wonder what resources they can give as well. A safe place to stay for a few weeks or month is nice but it takes a long time to get a trade, skill or degree that will provide a living wage. The one women that had a many felonies, that would be very hard to find to find her a program/schooling.

 

I am curious does the hotel know? Wouldn't the hotel or a guest notice that 10+ women have gone in and out of a room plus the advocates going back and forth plus all the pimps in the hotel. The "pimp" knocking the camera off the wall had to be fake. Normal hotels have cameras near the doors. How did the "pimp" know this camera wasn't hotel security and from cops or a show? Would he risk getting arrested for vandalism?

 

As much as I have a bunch of questions, I'll still will watch. I guess it is the type of show you watch for some miracle happy ending.

Edited April 27, 2015 by silverspoons

[cooksdelight]

I too just happened to stumble across this show by accident, but I'm intrigued (even if it might be totally staged).

With many reality shows, they will film it and then get signed waivers afterward. The ones who don't sign will be blurred. And they won't pay them anything at all if they don't want to. I know too many reality show people who get very little to be on a series.

Anyway, I'm not sure where the 8 minutes comes in either, unless we're talking about downtown Hollywood. I was driving to LAX early one morning (it was still dark, around 4:30) and the freeway was closed for construction, so I got off at Los Feliz, knowing I could take Hollywood or Sunset to LaCienega and get to the airport from there. Long story short, the streets were crawling with hookers and pimps. The pimps sitting across the street in cars with the motors running, the hookers working the other side. It looked like a lot of quick alley-way transcations to me, not that I was sticking around to gawk.

[silverspoons]

Well bye bye show I guess? It was off my dvr tonight and I just read A&E quietly cancelled it after some of the women on the show were upset. They not only claimed the show was very setup but the help promised was never given. Pretty sad to hear that women that really wanted a way out got nothing for $100-200, no housing, help with school, daycare etc. One women said her husband was asked to pose as a pimp. The article answers a lot of our questions. The women were called by a producer and told about the show. Then they came and were paid the fee $150-200 and shared their story. They were suppose to look shocked that the John was a pastor. The big lie was the van ride for help was a van ride back home with no help.

 

http://reason.com/blog/2015/05/06/ae-pulls-8-minutes-sex-work-show

[cooksdelight]

Wow! I would never have expected A&E to buy into a show that stooped so low.

[silverspoons]

I just read a few more articles and it is much worse. I doesn't seem like many of these women had pimps or were being trafficked. Most were unemployed/underemployed  moms. After the show aired several lost their apartments because the landlord found out what they did for work. A few also got arrested because of the show. I guess there are a group of women that appeared on the show that are mad because they do want a normal job but now by going on the show in hopes of getting what the show promised(housing while going to school, healthcare help for their kids, and childcare while in school) they are now worse off then before, homeless, fines, and being haressed. A&E and pastor Kevin will not call them back or help.

[cooksdelight]

That's horrible! The ones who signed the releases to have their faces shown probably did so because the pastor promised them help if they did. Otherwise, he'd have been sitting there talking to blurry faces the entire time.

 

God bless these women and I hope there is a good resolution to all of this.

[ShaNaeNae]

I figured as much when it didn't record Thursday.  Horrible outcome for these women, but they need to work on getting a better life anyway. I hate to sound harsh, but they need to better themselves. This show was horrible in promising them so much, I'd love to see what "Pastor" Kevin has to say for himself.   But one lady said she was afraid to put out an ad after being on TV, but needed the money so she did and got arrested.  Work on getting a job for money!  Another said she was only signing up to be on TV and figured no one would watch, but was shocked when it was online too. Come on now.  I know it's hard, I do.  I'm a single mom on a very tight budget. Very tight. But you've got to do the best you can for your kids. I'm all for doing what you need to do for money.  This show was horrible and exploited them, but they should be concentrating on getting a regular job in the first place where they don't have to leave their kids at 11pm at night to go meet some perv in a hotel room who is going to use your body to get his jollys.

 

I wonder if the advocates were really formerly in the life?