Mar 28, 2011 4:00 PM PDT    Text size: 

PANAMA CITY, Fla. — Girls Gone Wild CEO Joe Francis said he is looking forward to having some fun at his trial after showing up about 90 minutes late to court proceedings this morning.

Francis, who will be representing himself, appeared at the U.S. District Court this morning after his trial was scheduled to begin and 30 minutes after potential jurors were released. He said he was late because his flight from Atlanta was delayed, according to NewsHerald.com.

Francis said he is looking forward to cross examining the plaintiffs, who accuse him of sexually exploiting them when they were underage for his “Girls Gone Wild” series.

Francis said he “can’t wait to get these girls in front of me and let them have it.”

He also said he doesn’t believe the plaintiffs have a solid case against him and said he would appeal if the case doesn’t go his way.

Francis has had a difficult time retaining counsel. His most recent attorney Rick Bateman withdrew from the case. Francis said he believes the judge made a mistake in letting him quit the case before trial was about to start. He said if he loses in trial, he will appeal the judge’s decision.

“But in the meantime, I think we’re going to have some fun,” Francis said.