A viral body positivity community that drew hundreds of thousands of followers and welcomed plus-size women to a customized Las Vegas mansion is back in the spotlight after former members accused its founder of manipulation, predatory behavior and unwanted sexual conduct.
The allegations against Pearadise founder Stefan Wilhelmy sparked a yearslong legal battle that generated hundreds of pages of court filings and sworn declarations. They’re also one part of Investigation Discovery’s new three-part documentary, “Big Girls Wanted: Escaping Pearadise,” which explores body image, online communities, power dynamics and the subculture known as feederism.
Founded during the COVID-19 pandemic, Pearadise quickly grew from a Discord community into a social media phenomenon, attracting nearly 250,000 TikTok followers and drawing women from across the country to Wilhelmy’s Las Vegas home.
On its website, Pearadise describes itself as “a body-positive community built around friendship, confidence, acceptance and connection” where people could gather without fear of bullying, body shaming or judgment.
But, according to court records reviewed by Fox News Digital, several former members later alleged the reality was far different.
“Our clients described a scene of manipulation, victimization, coercion and sexual assault,” attorney Marc Randazza, who represented several former Pearadise members, told Fox News Digital in a statement summarizing the case.
According to court records, former members Savannah Brown and Alejandra Javier later took to social media, alleging Wilhelmy touched them without consent during visits to his Las Vegas home and describing conduct they characterized as sexual assault.
‘GIRLS GONE WILD’ EXPLOITED UNDERAGE GIRLS, CREW MEMBERS TOLD ‘DON’T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER’
Brown alleged Wilhelmy rubbed her stomach, touched her shoulders and spanked her despite objections. Javier alleged Wilhelmy rubbed her stomach without consent and took photographs of women in a pool without permission.
Wilhelmy denied the allegations and sued several women for defamation after they publicly described him as a predator and accused him of sexual assault.
🕵️ What story should we investigate next?
📩: stepheny.price@fox.com
Your information could help lead to our next story or investigation.
At the center of the lawsuit was a dispute over whether women who alleged unwanted sexual touching could publicly describe those encounters as sexual assault.
According to court filings, Wilhelmy argued the accusations were defamatory because Nevada’s criminal definition of sexual assault requires penetration.
BLAKE LIVELY’S CLASH WITH JUSTIN BALDONI ‘FATALLY COMPROMISED’ HIS CAREER: EXPERT
Randazza sharply criticized that argument in court filings, writing that Wilhelmy’s position amounted to, “I can do whatever I want to these women, and it doesn’t become sexual assault unless I penetrate them.”
The women responded with an Anti-SLAPP motion, arguing they were exercising their right to speak publicly about their experiences and warn others.
FORMER DISNEY TEEN STAR EXPOSES CHILLING WARNING SIGNS OF PREDATORY BEHAVIOR IN HOLLYWOOD
The litigation also produced additional sworn declarations from former Pearadise participants.
One former member alleged Wilhelmy created a highly sexualized environment and used the community to identify women he found attractive. Another woman alleged in a sworn declaration that Wilhelmy approached her while she was experiencing an emotional breakdown and pressured her into a sexual encounter, later describing the interaction as “predatory.”
The allegations were detailed in sworn declarations filed during the lawsuit. No criminal charges resulted, and the court’s ruling focused on the women’s right to speak publicly about their claims rather than whether the allegations were true.
JILLIAN MICHAELS BLASTS ‘BIGGEST LOSER’ DOC AS ‘AN EGREGIOUS LIE,’ DEBATING LEGAL ACTION
In January 2022, a Clark County judge dismissed Wilhelmy’s lawsuit under Nevada’s Anti-SLAPP law.
The court found the women had established their statements involved a matter of public concern and concluded there was no evidence they knowingly made false statements. The judge wrote that Brown and Javier believed they had been touched in a sexual manner without consent and that their use of the term “sexual assault” was not knowingly false simply because the allegations did not involve penetration.
While the allegations against Wilhelmy are part of the documentary, director Tara Malone said the project ultimately became about something much larger than one man.
DIDDY DOCUMENTARY: TOP BOMBSHELLS FROM AUBREY O’DAY UNSETTLING CLAIMS TO UNSEEN VIDEO BEFORE ARREST
“We wanted to go into this very judgment-free and let the women tell us who they were and what they experienced and felt,” Malone told Fox News Digital. “It’s not on us to make the judgment as to which experience is right or wrong.”
Malone said one of the most unusual aspects of the project was that many of the physical interactions themselves weren’t necessarily disputed.
“A lot of the actual physical events or encounters aren’t necessarily disputed between both sides,” she said. “It really comes down to what each individual calls it and how they process it.”
She said Wilhelmy pointed to security camera footage that he believes supports his version of events, while the women involved interpreted many of those same interactions very differently.
“Both sides of some of these events walked away with completely different understandings of what they did or what they went through,” Malone said.
Executive producer Michael Hirschorn said he never viewed the documentary as a traditional true-crime story.
FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X
“I don’t see this as primarily a crime story,” Hirschorn told Fox News Digital. “It’s really a story about power and about safety and about what you’re willing to sacrifice in order to get something that you feel that you need.”
Hirschorn said the filmmakers were initially drawn to Pearadise because it appeared to offer something many women had spent years searching for.
SIGN UP TO GET TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTER
“There was this place that was almost like a kind of nirvana, like a refuge, like a safe space,” he said. “As we dug into it, we began to see that there were some complications and controversies.”
He said viewers shouldn’t expect a simple good-versus-bad narrative.
“You could go through this whole series and come out with some sympathy for Stefan,” Hirschorn said. “When you look at some of the evidence Stefan presents, you’re like, ‘Yeah, I think this guy has a point.'”
Rather than telling viewers what to think, Hirschorn said the filmmakers wanted audiences to wrestle with the competing accounts themselves.
LISTEN TO THE NEW ‘CRIME & JUSTICE WITH DONNA ROTUNNO’ PODCAST
“I think a good documentary leaves you bringing your own instincts to what is and isn’t true and who is and who isn’t bad,” he said.
Ultimately, Hirschorn hopes viewers leave with empathy rather than judgment.
LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? FIND MORE ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB
“People may come into this story with a snicker,” he said. “I hope they leave with empathy.”
Malone echoed that hope, saying she wants viewers to reconsider how they judge themselves and others.
“Should I be kinder to myself? Should I be kinder about what I’m saying to someone else?” she said. “There’s a cost to the words that come out of our mouths.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, the Clark County District Attorney’s Office and attorneys who represented Wilhelmy for comment.
