The viral body-positivity community Pearadise, which 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. The case is also 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.
Pearadise was founded during the COVID-19 pandemic and 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. However, according to court records, several former members later alleged the reality was far different.
"Our clients described a scene of manipulation, victimization, coercion, and sexual assault," an attorney representing several former Pearadise members said in a statement. "Former members alleged that Wilhelmy touched them without consent during visits to his Las Vegas home and described conduct they characterized as sexual assault."
Court records also revealed that former members Savannah Brown and Alejandra Javier alleged Wilhelmy rubbed them without consent, touched them inappropriately, 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.
The lawsuit centered around a dispute over whether women who alleged unwanted sexual touching could publicly describe those encounters as sexual assault. Wilhelmy argued that the accusations were defamatory because Nevada's criminal definition of sexual assault requires penetration. However, the women responded with an Anti-SLAPP motion, arguing they were exercising their right to speak publicly about their experiences and warn others.
A Clark County judge eventually dismissed Wilhelmy's lawsuit under Nevada's Anti-SLAPP law, finding that the women had established their statements involved a matter of public concern and concluded there was no evidence they knowingly made false statements.
The documentary "Big Girls Wanted: Escaping Pearadise" explores the complex issues surrounding Pearadise and the experiences of its former members. Director Tara Malone said the project ultimately became about something much larger than one man. "We wanted to go into this very judgment-free and let the women tell us who they were and what they experienced and felt," she said.
Executive producer Michael Hirschorn said he never viewed the documentary as a traditional true-crime story. "It's not on us to make the judgment as to which experience is right or wrong," he said. "We want viewers to wrestle with the competing accounts themselves and leave with empathy rather than judgment."
