Some people are born villains. Others are made. I was named one.

The media crowned me the Manhattan Madam while I was sitting in solitary confinement at Rikers. It was sensational, taboo, and scandalous—a woman at the helm of an industry people love to judge but can’t stop consuming. Add to that my black book of 10,000 clients, and suddenly, I wasn’t just another headline—I was media gold.

People love to hate a madam. They assume I was exploiting women, pushing girls into something they didn’t want to do, taking advantage of the desperate and drug-addicted. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

My agency’s starting rate was $1,000 per hour—fifteen years ago. These were powerful, beautiful, and smart women who CHOSE this life, not victims. I treated them like family, and they called me Mama Fab because I encouraged them to set boundaries, demand their worth, and run their own lives like a business.

But none of that mattered to the public. The villain narrative had already been written.

Why They Hate Me (And Why I’m Okay With It)

A lot of women hate me because they see me as the reason their men cheated. But let’s be real—I didn’t create infidelity. I didn’t force these men to seek out my services any more than a liquor store forces someone to drink.

People want someone to blame for their pain. It’s easier to hate the madam than to accept that some men—many men—will stray no matter what.

And then there’s the media.

Fifteen years later, I’ve built multiple businesses, worked in politics, shaped media strategy for some of the most controversial figures in America—but I will always be “The Manhattan Madam” to them.

Every article, every hit piece, every scandal I get pulled into:
“Kristin Davis, the former Manhattan Madam, is now working with (insert latest controversial political figure here).”

As if one chapter of my life negates my intelligence, my strategy, my ability to excel in entirely different industries.

But the truth is… I don’t care.

Why You Should Stop Caring Too

People will always see you through the lens of their own experiences—their own fears, their own conditioning. Most people haven’t built empires, taken risks, lost it all, and rebuilt from scratch.

So how could they possibly understand?

What holds most people back isn’t their past, their mistakes, or their failures. It’s their fear of what other people think.

They crave acceptance in a world designed not to accept them. They make excuses instead of taking control. They play small instead of betting on themselves.

I stopped caring because I made peace with my past. And I refuse to let strangers—or the media—control my future.

You should do the same.

Let them talk. Let them hate. Let them write their headlines. It only adds to the brand.