Oscar De La Hoya Admits Paying $1 Million For Photos Of Him In Lingerie Not To Leak

Mexican-American boxer Oscar De La Hoya recently sat down with BigBoyTV to give one of his most in-depth interviews ever, and yes… it goes into that 2007 lingerie scandal.

While De La Hoya had already confirmed those leaked photos of him were indeed real back in 2011, he added some extra info this time around — and we’re shook.

A bit of background about the boxer’s 2007 photo scandal

So, let’s back up — lingerie scandal, who? In case you didn’t read about it back in the mid-aughts (or, are, you know— Gen Z), De La Hoya was involved in a leaked photos case that tarnished his name at the time.

As he told Big Boy, the boxer had a “squeaky clean” image to protect. I mean, he was America’s “Golden Boy” after all, coming after his stint at the 1992 Summer Olympics that led to a gold medal. From the 90s on, the East L.A.-born boxer was a revelation, but he had demons to fight, too.

De La Hoya has been honest about his fight for sobriety in the past. He has admitted his alcoholism and drug use, checking himself into rehab several times. Plus, one thing that’s important to note is that this lingerie scandal is the least of it: the 50-year-old was accused of sexual assault in 1998, and recently in 2019 and 2022.

By 2007, there were already massive cracks on the boxer’s “golden” surface. And by that year, photos of him in lingerie during a night of partying leaked to the press.

Now, De La Hoya is giving more details about what went down

Now, De La Hoya is noticeably-relieved to speak honestly about the night that led to the leaked photos. He told Big Boy, “It’s the truth, I accept it… I don’t have to deny it anymore… That was me. I had one of these binges, drunk nights, and I guess the girl told me, ‘Wear these f**king clothes.'”

The boxer said it was his “first time, only time” wearing lingerie, and the woman who seemingly convinced him to wear it was a — in his words — “freaking hot Russian.” Or, in hindsight, “actually two of them.” Okay.

While the situation was “embarrassing” for the boxer, he revealed a shocking possibility. He said he believes someone “roofied” or drugged him, and doesn’t remember any of it. De La Hoya woke up the next day, and the women had left, taking the lingerie with them. At that point, he received a call from his lawyer that changed everything.

As told by De La Hoya, his lawyer asked him what was going on — “some Russians” had called him saying they wanted $1 million in exchange for not releasing the lingerie photos. The boxer’s response? “Give it to them, because my image is squeaky-clean, and I can’t mess with it, and people can’t know.”

By 2011, the boxer was “tired of lying” about the pictures

Thought the story couldn’t get any crazier? It sort of does. The boxer explained how his lawyer had to negotiate with “the Russians” inside a NYC rooftop pool. “He had to go… take off all his clothes, jump in the pool, then the Russian jumped in, and they negotiated right there just to make sure they didn’t have wires.”

He gave the people with the photos $1 million — and they still released the photos in 2007. Shook, we tell you — shook.

As aforementioned, this isn’t the first time De La Hoya admits to the lingerie photos being real, we just have even more chisme surrounding it now. The boxer first confessed the photos were real four years after the scandal hit, talking about it in an in-depth interview with Univision. He told the outlet, “Yes, it was me… I’m tired of lying, of lying to the public and of lying to myself.”

He admitted he was under the effects of alcohol and cocaine at the time, and was “almost” out of control. After it, he almost got to the point of not wanting to live anymore. He explained, “I asked myself, ‘Is living worth it?’ I felt like I had nothing.”

He may have paid even more than $1 million

Moreover, while De La Hoya admitted to paying $1 million in the hopes of keeping the photos hidden, the final sum could have been more. In fact, as per the New York Post, a woman who allegedly also appeared in the photos filed a federal lawsuit against him. According to her, she was tricked into agreeing the pictures were fake back when De La Hoya alleged they were doctored. No one knows for sure how much money the boxer paid to settle out of court— but the New York Post reported it was around $20 million.

While we’ll never know that part, one thing is for sure: as De La Hoya told “The Breakfast Club” in 2017, it was “a bad time.”