Real or fake? When it comes to mainstream celebrities, fans try to spot the plastic surgery, scrutinizing the physical upgrades required of those aging in the era of 4K. For porn fans, it’s spotting a genuine orgasm and priding themselves on interpreting subtleties that surely only they’ve been savvy enough to catch—those minute signs that the performer is really into it and not just cashing a check.
Whereas mainstream celebrities are expected to live a life outside the characters they inhabit, a porn star’s fan base (and therefore earning potential) could take a nosedive if their persona’s naughty nature isn’t mirrored in real life—to at least some degree. Cultivating that image helps reduce the occupational stigma yet inadvertently reinforces certain aspects of it by always being on brand; by breaking the fourth wall to validate the authenticity fans fantasize about.
Erika Icon, owner of the adult public relations firm The Rub PR, believes bringing that “human element” to the business allows fans to get to know their idols beyond porn. “Pay sites like OnlyFans and premium Snapchat accounts are wildly popular and are making adult stars (male and female) tons of cash because their fans not only get to go on set with them, but also to nail appointments, out to eat, to the shooting range, bartending, and much more,” says Icon. “Studios see all this. They know it equates to profit, and that’s smart. I think future productions by studios (and not just ones made by the stars themselves) will show even more about the porn stars’ real lives.”
The same company responsible for pioneering gonzo porn, or what anti-porn writer Gail Dines has branded “body-punishing sex,” is now helping performers push back against bias—while also turning a profit—nearly three decades later. Evil Angel is leading the movement to humanize adult performers, one chosen star at a time, through a series of 60-minute to 70-minute X-rated documentaries, sex scenes included. “Obviously there’s a bias against sex workers, there’s a stigma, but these are celebrities like anyone else,” Evil Angel’s chief creative officer Chris Gentile said in a recent interview with The Daily Beast. “A big part of me thinks porn performers should be hosting Saturday Night Live, they should be on the Jimmy Kimmel show, they should be on billboards. Performers should be celebrated like any other celebrity.”
Featured in I Am Riley, Evil Angel’s third installment of the docuseries, adult actress Riley Reid capitalized on the chance to provoke meaningful conversation and improve the public’s general understanding of those in adult. “I’m at a point in my career where I really want to humanize myself and allow the world to see there’s more to me than my adult videos,” says Reid. “I want to show them my raw self, myself without makeup, myself when I’m just rambling and talking. And maybe I shouldn’t have said the things I say but I fucking said it because that’s who I am.”
In an unprecedented cultural breakthrough, billboards with Reid’s face advertising the upcoming adult release were placed throughout New York City’s Times Square. With millions of followers, Reid recalls feeling it was as much her responsibility as it was an opportunity to pierce the stigma. “Being a big star in the industry, knowing that I have an impact on the industry, it was almost a duty,” offers Reid. “To take on this challenge and do this documentary, to really show the adult entertainer is more than just her stage name.”
At the end of the day, as one of porn’s renowned agents Mark Spiegler reminds us, it’s still show business. “With all the social media stuff you have a lot of fans that want to get to know the girl not just in a porn setting,” says Spiegler. “The viewers want to believe—and think—they are getting to know the girls, which they kind of do, but it is somewhat of a façade too.”
Peeping through the window of a porn star’s “real life” is still a sales pitch, however well intentioned. “I use my Twitter to sell content and make money. A lot of the times you won’t see me posting about my dog because I do try to stay on brand. I understand why the common person who follows me on social media would put me in a very hyper sexual category. They’re looking at my job. They’re looking at Riley Reid,” comments Reid. “I want to attract people who will hopefully understand this is just my brand, but sadly we’re not in a world of intellectuals. I think a lot of people don’t look deeper; so many people are just surface-lookers. It’s an emotional thing. I struggle with it when it comes to making friends or dating but I also try to meet people in real life, which is also sometimes a battle because people meet me though Riley Reid.”
Real has its limits.
