Ashley Dupré

Ashley Alexandra Dupré, the woman at the center of New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s call-girl scandal, withdrew her $10-million lawsuit against Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis and his film company on Thursday afternoon.

The suit, originally filed in April, claimed that Dupré’s name and image had been exploited for profit.

“Ms. Dupré wants to eliminate all negativity from her life and focus on the positive,” Dupré’s attorney Richard C. Wolfe said in a statement. “She has prospects for many exciting new projects and is looking forward to starting a new chapter.”

Francis could not immediately be reached for comment.

The lawsuit alleged that Dupré was duped into signing a release form and exposing her breasts for Girls Gone Wild cameras in 2003, when she was only 17.

After the lawsuit was filed, Francis said he was “surprised and in fact amazed” by her claims, noting that he had not released new video of Dupré “due to corporate policy of not using footage of individuals younger than 18.” Francis also asserted that Dupré gave her consent on video when the footage was taken, and at that time provided his camera crew with identification that showed she was 18. Francis later released video clips that supported those assertions.

Ashley Dupré is speaking out for the first time since the New York prostitution scandal, paying tribute to her supporters and telling her critics that they only make her stronger.

“Thank you all so much for taking the time to send me a bit of strength and inspiration via e-mail or comment,” Dupré writes on her MySpace blog, in which she calls her mood “Thankful.” “Your words have touched me, and I thank you for that … with all my heart, I love you guys!!! ”

The 23-year-old call girl who played a major role in bringing down Gov. Eliot Spitzer had been nearly invisible since March 12, when she was identified.

But over the weekend the aspiring singer responded to the many people who left supportive messages on her account.

Dupré also left a comment for her critics: “And to all the not so kind words … I love you too, because it makes me push myself and want it even more. ‘Hard times don’t last … only strong people.’”

Since the scandal broke, Dupré – born Ashley Youmans in 1985 – has been spending some of her time trying to escape the controversy by hanging out with her mother and getting spa treatments.

In April, she filed a $10-million lawsuit against Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis, claiming that the company was exploiting nude images of her from when she was 17.