She's the most famous former call girl this side of Heidi Fleiss. And now she's finally going public.
Ashley Dupré, the prostitute/aspiring singer who brought down New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer and then took on Girl Gone Wild, is opening up for the first time about the often harsh media glare.
In a post on her MySpace blog, the 23-year-old Dupré gave a shout-out to fans for sticking by her.
"Thank you all so much for taking the time to send me a bit of strength and inspiration via email or comment," she writes. "Your words have touched me and I thank you for that. . .with all my heart, I love you guys!!!"
She also took aim at her detractors.
"And to all the not so kind words...I love you too, because it makes me push myself and want it even more," Dupré continues. "Hard times don't last...only strong people."
Dupré hadn't been heard from since March 12, when her cover was, er, blown, and it was learned she was "Kristin," the prostitute at the center of the Spitzer affair. She issued a terse public statement on MySpace: "Yeah, I did it." She then went into hiding, reportedly at her mother's New Jersey home.
She also became caught up in a battle with Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis , who unearthed au naturel footage of her taken during a Miami excursion.
Dupré subsequently slapped Francis with a $10 million suit, claiming he was attempting to exploit her name and image via video shot when she was 17. Francis retaliated by putting up footage of Dupré saying on camera that she is not a minor and consents to the filming.