On April 8, 2008, a mere six months prior to the launch of The Daily Beast, John Stagliano and his hardcore-porn production company, Evil Angel, were indicted on obscenity charges by a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C.
It was the first such case brought against the adult film industry in over two decades.
Stagliano—the godfather of gonzo porn—and Evil Angel were hit with seven obscenity violations in total, including selling and distributing “DVDs containing obscene films” across state lines; “using a common carrier” to deliver said “obscene” DVDs (i.e. the mail); “engaging in the business of selling or transferring an obscene film and a movie trailer”; and “using an interactive computer service to display an obscene movie trailer in a manner available to a person under 18 years of age,” or posting a XXX trailer online. The adult films in question were Jay Sin’s Milk Nymphos, Storm Squirters 2: Target Practice and the trailer to Fetish Fanatic 5, and according to court documents, were said to contain “numerous scenes of urination, use of enemas and violent bondage” that “exceeds the bounds of decency.” Stagliano faced up to 32 years in prison and $7 million in fines.
ADVERTISEMENT
The obscenity charges were the byproduct of the Bush administration’s Obscenity Prosecution Task Force, a unit established in 2005 by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in order to effectively wage war on hardcore pornography.
“Obviously, fighting terrorism and keeping the people safe from attack is our number-one priority, but it doesn’t mean that we can’t also do the other things that we’ve done for a long time, which is protect the border, keep people from robbing banks and white-collar fraud, as well as obscenity,” U.S. Attorney John E. Sutton remarked.
The trial was a farce, with Judge Richard L. Leon dismissing the obscenity charges after a few days due to what he called “woefully insufficient” evidence, adding, “I hope the government will learn a lesson from its experience.”
Shocker: They haven’t. Last year, during his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for attorney general, Jeff Sessions was asked by Sen. Orrin hatch (R-UT) whether he intended to prosecute pornography-related obscenity cases more aggressively and resurrect the Obscenity Prosecution Task Force, which had been shut down by Obama AG Eric Holder in 2011. “Those laws are clear and being prosecuted today and should be continued to be effectively and vigorously prosecuted in the cases that are appropriate,” Sessions replied, adding of the task force, “That unit has been disbanded. I’m not sure I knew that, but it was a part of the Department of Justice for a long time and I would consider [bringing it back].”
Of course, if Attorney General Sessions did revive the GOP’s anti-porn campaign, it would be remarkably hypocritical for several reasons. For starters, President Donald J. Trump has not only made cameo appearances in three softcore porn films but is also alleged to have conducted an extramarital affair with adult actress Stormy Daniels, propositioned her porn-star pal Alana Evans in the process, and then paid for Daniels’ silence during the final weeks of the 2016 presidential election. And, though the GOP branded porn a “public health crisis” and “public menace” in the Republican Party platform, the fact remains that red states consume it the most.
For all the conservative posturing around porn, whether it be slut-shaming Stormy Daniels or labeling her attorney Michael Avenatti a “creepy porn lawyer,” everyone watches the stuff. Hell, even Ted Cruz is apparently into fauxcest porn. According to Pornhub, the XXX streaming behemoth, the site averages approximately 81 million visitors a day, with folks from Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, Louisiana and Arkansas spending the most time there of U.S. viewers.
So it’s time for Americans—who consume far and away the most porn of any country in the world—to start treating adult performers with respect; to take their allegations seriously when they accuse men in their industry of serial abuse, like James Deen and Ron Jeremy; to chastise the major banks for refusing to serve them; to call out prominent liberals when necessary; and to treat these people like goddamn human beings.
As Amber Rose once told me, “Porn stars are here for our convenience. Everyone uses them when they want to use them and then throws them away after. We don’t respect them enough.”
Keep Reading for more Daily Beast 10th Anniversary Coverage:
