Canadian teen's modelling photo 'ended up on vibrator battery'
- Published
Lauren Gulyas when she was 15-years-old on a battery sold by a sex shop, and 32-year-old Lauren
"That time I modelled for a clip art company at 15 and ended up on dildo batteries."
These were the words 32-year-old Lauren Gulyas, from Prince Edward County, in Ontario, Canada, wrote in a Reddit post, external which gained 70,000 upvotes in 24 hours.
The host of the cooking show A is for Apple says she discovered her modelling pictures on batteries sold in sex shops.
She said she "never thought the pictures would go anywhere".
A current picture of the TV star
'My dad called the newspaper and had the ad removed'
Ms Gulyas told the BBC that the photo shoot took place in Ottawa when she was 15 years old.
"It was one of my first gigs in a very short modelling career."
She said she knew the pictures were taken for a clip art company called AbleStock, but that it never occurred to her the pictures would be used for "anything inappropriate".
Ms Gulyas said she was "naive" at the time the photos were taken: "We figured people would do their due diligence".
After the shoot the pictures would show up in random places like magazine articles about religion, she said.
"One day someone found it advertising a local strip club but my dad called the newspaper and had the ad removed."
Since her modelling days, Ms Gulyas has worked as a chef in Canada and Costa Rica. And she now hosts a cookery show called A is for Apple on Gusto, a Canadian pay TV channel.
Lauren in a photo from the same shoot
'AA battery with my face on it and the word naughty'
She said she recently got a message from her ex-boyfriend's roommate asking if, by chance, there was a photo of Ms Gulyas in angel wings in circulation.
He told her he went to replace the batteries in his girlfriend's vibrator and out came an AA battery with Lauren's face on it and the word "naughty" written across it.
"He thought it was the coolest thing that had ever happened to him," said Ms Gulyas.
"I think I was in shock and pretty embarrassed."
She said she tried contacting the battery company and AbleStock but never received responses.
She said she has had to accept that there isn't anything she can do about it: "Every now and then one of my friends will bring it up and I'll be reminded of the whole thing."
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'My mom probably feels a lot of guilt'
Ms Gulyas spoke to other Reddit users who said they had seen the batteries in sex shops.
"My friend found my face on this battery": Lauren Gulyas
"My family and I all think it's pretty crazy, but all you can do is laugh about it now.
"My mom probably feels a lot of guilt that she signed away the rights all those year ago, and my dad likely just tries not to think about it."
She remembers her mother signing a release, but says "we honestly just didn't think they would use an underage girl for so many inappropriate things."
"We learnt a lesson about signing away rights."
"There were a few Reddit commenters who confirmed they worked at sex shops where the batteries were sold", Ms Gulyas said, adding: "One Reddit user orders them online."
Another Reddit user, external said they had a similar experience: "I did modelling as a kid and the most visible work I ever had was billboards and bus signs for an adoption agency.
"In 5th grade another one of the classes went on a field trip downtown and a bus pulled up alongside them with my face on the side basically saying 'Please. Please adopt this poor child.'"
- Published11 December 2018
- Published10 December 2018
