Pervert popstar manager confesses all (NewWindPress)Time of publication: 12.02.2003 |
LONDON: Manager of the controversial Russian teenage pop duo Tatu has confessed that he has taken advantage of underage girls on the "casting couch" in his search for a wife.
In a shocking interview with The Sun, Ivan Shapovalov, 36, also revealed that his perverted lust sparked Tatu's image of teenage lesbian sex.
Investigations by The Sun also unearthed claims that Shapovalov slept with Tatu singer Julia Volkova when she was 14; that neither the girls nor their parents knew of the explicit lesbian nature of the group until they had signed a five-year contract, and that they had to simulate sex acts on stage.
Shapovalov agreed to an exclusive interview with The Sun, along with Julia, 17, and fellow-Tatu star Lena Katina, 18, in a bid to explain the idea behind the band.
But his confessions unmask him as sick and intent on exploiting young girls desperate for fame.
Shapovalov, a former child psychologist, who has a 14-year- old son, said: "I got the idea of Tatu from market research. I saw that most people look up pornography on the Internet and of those, most are looking for underage sex.
"I saw their needs weren't fulfilled. Later, it turned out, I was right. This is the same as my own desires. I prefer underage girls."
When asked if he slept with underage girls himself. Shapovalov replied: "It doesn't matter if I have or haven't. I don't remember."
In the past few weeks, Tatu have become the biggest- selling Russian group of all time.
They have sold five million copies of their debut single All The Things She Said worldwide and last week they became the first Russian pop group to top the UK charts.
The video, now banned by the BBC, caused outrage for showing the girls kissing and wearing skimpy school uniforms.
Shapovalov claimed the girls had started out as good friends and had willingly had sex together from a young age.
Their name - Tatu - is an abbreviation of the Russian saying "This girl loves that girl".
Shapovalov's cynical manipulation of youngsters can be seen in the way he "auditions" them.
Elena Kipper, a former Tatu songwriter and one of his ex-lovers, insists he regularly has sex with underage girls desperate to be stars.
And Shapovalov, who is separated from his wife, is happy to admit it - although he carefully avoids saying how old they are. He said: "I take advantage of this constantly. Constantly! This is how I intend to find a new bride."
Elena said: "Because he is a psychologist he knows the methods used by doctors to make children open up to him. And on the casting couch he found dozens of girls to act out his fantasies, making them believe he loved them. They all fell in love with him - even I did. He can make you see him as he sees himself."
Shapovalov admitted to The Sun that neither the girls nor their parents knew before they signed contracts that Tatu would have to pretend to be lesbians. |
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