From www.nydailynews.com- The lady says she's into burlesque - not porn.
A Brooklyn beauty who performs in panties and pasties is suing the Learning Annex after videos she did for the company were posted online identifying her as a "Young Sexy Porn Star Stripper Dancer" and a "Big T--- Sexy Teen Girl."
Tara Lee Heffner, whose stage name is Veronica Varlow,[pictured] last year led a Learning Annex seminar on burlesque dancing. In videos for the company's affiliate, OneMinuteU.com, she also provided advice on sultry dance moves and how to apply glitter lipstick.
When the videos surfaced on YouTube, the sexy siren was no longer simply dispensing tips on how to get "sparkly, burlesque lips" or "how to be sexy and flirty." "She's a burlesque performer and she takes it very seriously as an art form," said her lawyer, Ivan Saperstein.
"She's purposely avoided nudity her entire career to avoid being harmed in this way." The Manhattan Supreme Court suit accuses the Learning Annex and contractor PHI Media of trashing her good name by connecting her to X-rated entertainment.
"She was outraged," Saperstein said. "She views what she does as a burlesque performer as being no different than what the Victoria's Secret models do." The suit says the "porn star" and "sexy teen girl" tags have damaged Heffner's business and caused her "great mental pain and anguish."
"Defendants knew that the statements were false or otherwise failed to take the proper steps to ascertain their accuracy," the suit says.
A Learning Annex spokeswoman did not respond to requests for comment. Heffner, 30, operates Danger Dame, an online clothing boutique that touts itself as "Deadly Fashion for the Femme Fatale."
Its 1940's and 50's-inspired items include thigh-high stockings, garter panties and a $92 "Hell Hath No Fury" dress.
As Veronica Varlow, she has starred in shows where she prances around in high heels and feathers. She also appeared in an episode of MTV's "Made," in which she she taught an outcast teenager with pink hair how to dance burlesque.
"I want to tease an audience to death," Varlow told Gothamist.com in 2006.
"I want to bring them into this sultry world and ruffle their hair a bit."
