How Porn Became "Essential" In Pandemic
As demand for adult content soars, production studios stall out and performers scramble to make ends meet
On March 15 the Free Speech Coalition—the trade group that oversees the porn industry’s tests for sexually transmitted diseases—called for a voluntary production shutdown.
“We ask that producers cancel all shoots through March 31,” reads the FSC’s statement, “and recommend that performers immediately stop filming with partners who are not a part of their household. We do not take this step lightly.”
Two days later, the group took its testing system, Performer Availability Scheduling Services, or PASS, offline. Surprisingly, the March 17 adjustment was not directly related to the coronavirus; the group announced that it had found an “inconsistency” in the way the tests were being processed but that it did not pose “any threat to the integrity of the performer pool.”
The system, which does not release information within the industry more detailed than whether performers are ready to work, sets the porn business apart from the rest of the nation: In the event of an outbreak (STI-related or otherwise), the FSC immediately calls for a hold on production while it traces the origin. The adult business is likely one of the few industries actually built to withstand a viral pandemic. A familiarity with sudden unemployment and basic epidemiology has given people in the industry a unique perspective on the fallout of COVID-19.
"If you’re irresponsible to be shooting at a time like this, why would I trust you at a normal time?"
Demand, of course, has moved inversely to production. Pornhub’s analytics show that worldwide traffic was up 4.4 percent on March 15 and 11.6 percent on March 17. Those traffic jumps are early results of countless global citizens being sent into their homes and told they would be wise not to leave. The adult giant has leaned into this uptick by making its premium content free for the duration of the outbreak. (Interesting side note: Pornhub has said that most of its worldwide views in 2019 came just before midnight on Sundays when most of us are gripped by pre-Monday stress.)
Adult star Ana Foxxx hasn’t shot a scene in just over a week. Her last shoot was in Las Vegas as the coronavirus was beginning to take hold in the United States, and her friends became nervous seeing her travel. Foxxx tells me, “Our industry shuts down if anyone catches something serious, so it’s shocking so many people in porn aren’t prepared.”
But the 31-year-old is at the pinnacle of the industry, which she has been in for nine years, and has deals with Pornhub, ManyVids, Playboy, OnlyFans, and Fleshlight. Some of the performers still working after the moratorium are doing so because they can’t afford to stop. On March 23 actress Dakota Skye tweeted that she was being evicted and asked for somewhere to stay in Las Vegas.
Nearly all performers are independent contractors, meaning they can’t file for unemployment. The Free Speech Coalition announced a $30,000 emergency fund to help talent and crew with living expenses, but that’s unlikely to be much help in the massive industry.
Still, many of the performers interviewed for this story expressed frustration with others who were continuing to shoot. That ire has seeped through the industry and onto social media—especially after the FSC said in an advisory that it had received “multiple reports” of performers with presumptive cases of the coronavirus.
"A previous three-month ban resulted in losing “a big chunk of our talent who couldn’t afford to hang around.”
As the pandemic began to spread through the U.S., people in the industry were concerned that the large studios would continue production. Many of those companies now say they are on hiatus. Danny D, a producer, and actor with Brazzers took to Twitter on March 21, writing, “We shut down production on the 14th March, currently closed until April 19th. We are monitoring the situation, everyone’s health & safety is far more important during this time.” On March 19, Miami-based studio Bang Bros tweeted, “We’ve stopped filming due to the halt on production issued by the FSC. Thanks for your concern. #BangBrosCares.”
Leya Falcon, who has been in the industry for years, tweeted on March 23, “I believe that if you are shooting during a moratorium with anyone other than your significant other you should be kicked out of PASS. Moratoriums are put into place FOR A REASON, they aren’t just thrown around all willy nilly. STOP risking your and others' health!”
On porn industry gossip blogs, articles shame the performers who ignore the FSC. One post claims that a certain performer is “living up to her reputation as the dumbest woman in porn” for allegedly working during the moratorium. That frustration echoes through much of the talent pool. Falcon hasn’t shot in a few weeks, and in our conversation, she reiterates her stance that those performers who are still working should be banned from PASS: “If you’re irresponsible to be shooting at a time like this, why would I trust you at a normal time?” She cites rumors of a circulating blacklist of performers who are working during the shutdown.
The business is distinctive in that outbreaks that halt production is not uncommon. Almost all the performers I spoke with have faced production moratoriums following outbreaks. According to a list provided by the FSC, there were two shutdowns in 2018, one in 2017 and another in 2015.
Performer Lotus Lain tells me that “any type of shutdown is always followed by a few people panicking and lashing out on Twitter.”
Foxxx says she has been in the industry during two previous moratoriums: one that lasted for two weeks and another that she says lasted for nearly three months. She adds that the two-week moratorium had little effect on the industry, but the three-month ban resulted in losing “a big chunk of our talent who couldn’t afford to hang around.”
"The shutdown is only going to strongly emphasize how important it is for [performers] to own their content and residual income streams."
The coronavirus moratorium is different: Unemployment is taking over industries nationwide, and the exit routes available to performers during other shutdowns are harder to access now.
That’s why many performers are shifting to newer platforms such as OnlyFans and ManyVids, several of which are less than a decade old. But others are skeptical since the newer platforms operate outside the PASS system. Performers regularly mention the talent pool, by which they mean the group of performers actively shooting, but the talent pool for the new, pay-per-view platforms is wider and less regulated than the pool involved with the major studios. Falcon calls the new platforms “a blessing and a curse,” adding that performers are now able to have complete control over their shoots and businesses, but operating outside industry regulations makes the work riskier.
The move from studios to the newer platforms has been in progress for years. Some newer stars such as Addie Andrews shoot with studios only once or twice a month. Andrews, who has been in the industry for less than two years, tells me, “Performers have been pushed in that direction for a while. The shutdown is only going to strongly emphasize how important it is for them to own their content and residual income streams. Companies can offer a small paycheck and a boost in clout for their personal brands, but they don’t offer a steady or reliable income source.”
For performers like her who operate mostly on streaming sites, the coronavirus hasn’t affected business—but Andrews, who now does mostly solo work, told me that even on her OnlyFans channel she works only with scene partners who are PASS-tested.
The coronavirus has changed the economy for now, but it seems to have shifted the porn industry permanently. Previous moratoriums ended the production of new pornography, but they didn’t occur during times when most of the public was home and porn viewership was sharply rising. With surging demand, performers feel more essential than ever, but many of them are on career standby—with no end to the crisis in sight.
On March 15 the Free Speech Coalition—the trade group that oversees the porn industry’s tests for sexually transmitted diseases—called for a voluntary production shutdown.
“We ask that producers cancel all shoots through March 31,” reads the FSC’s statement, “and recommend that performers immediately stop filming with partners who are not a part of their household. We do not take this step lightly.”
Two days later, the group took its testing system, Performer Availability Scheduling Services, or PASS, offline. Surprisingly, the March 17 adjustment was not directly related to the coronavirus; the group announced that it had found an “inconsistency” in the way the tests were being processed but that it did not pose “any threat to the integrity of the performer pool.”
The system, which does not release information within the industry more detailed than whether performers are ready to work, sets the porn business apart from the rest of the nation: In the event of an outbreak (STI-related or otherwise), the FSC immediately calls for a hold on production while it traces the origin. The adult business is likely one of the few industries actually built to withstand a viral pandemic. A familiarity with sudden unemployment and basic epidemiology has given people in the industry a unique perspective on the fallout of COVID-19.
"If you’re irresponsible to be shooting at a time like this, why would I trust you at a normal time?"
Demand, of course, has moved inversely to production. Pornhub’s analytics show that worldwide traffic was up 4.4 percent on March 15 and 11.6 percent on March 17. Those traffic jumps are early results of countless global citizens being sent into their homes and told they would be wise not to leave. The adult giant has leaned into this uptick by making its premium content free for the duration of the outbreak. (Interesting side note: Pornhub has said that most of its worldwide views in 2019 came just before midnight on Sundays when most of us are gripped by pre-Monday stress.)
Adult star Ana Foxxx hasn’t shot a scene in just over a week. Her last shoot was in Las Vegas as the coronavirus was beginning to take hold in the United States, and her friends became nervous seeing her travel. Foxxx tells me, “Our industry shuts down if anyone catches something serious, so it’s shocking so many people in porn aren’t prepared.”
But the 31-year-old is at the pinnacle of the industry, which she has been in for nine years, and has deals with Pornhub, ManyVids, Playboy, OnlyFans, and Fleshlight. Some of the performers still working after the moratorium are doing so because they can’t afford to stop. On March 23 actress Dakota Skye tweeted that she was being evicted and asked for somewhere to stay in Las Vegas.
Nearly all performers are independent contractors, meaning they can’t file for unemployment. The Free Speech Coalition announced a $30,000 emergency fund to help talent and crew with living expenses, but that’s unlikely to be much help in the massive industry.
Still, many of the performers interviewed for this story expressed frustration with others who were continuing to shoot. That ire has seeped through the industry and onto social media—especially after the FSC said in an advisory that it had received “multiple reports” of performers with presumptive cases of the coronavirus.
"A previous three-month ban resulted in losing “a big chunk of our talent who couldn’t afford to hang around.”
As the pandemic began to spread through the U.S., people in the industry were concerned that the large studios would continue production. Many of those companies now say they are on hiatus. Danny D, a producer, and actor with Brazzers took to Twitter on March 21, writing, “We shut down production on the 14th March, currently closed until April 19th. We are monitoring the situation, everyone’s health & safety is far more important during this time.” On March 19, Miami-based studio Bang Bros tweeted, “We’ve stopped filming due to the halt on production issued by the FSC. Thanks for your concern. #BangBrosCares.”
Leya Falcon, who has been in the industry for years, tweeted on March 23, “I believe that if you are shooting during a moratorium with anyone other than your significant other you should be kicked out of PASS. Moratoriums are put into place FOR A REASON, they aren’t just thrown around all willy nilly. STOP risking your and others' health!”
On porn industry gossip blogs, articles shame the performers who ignore the FSC. One post claims that a certain performer is “living up to her reputation as the dumbest woman in porn” for allegedly working during the moratorium. That frustration echoes through much of the talent pool. Falcon hasn’t shot in a few weeks, and in our conversation, she reiterates her stance that those performers who are still working should be banned from PASS: “If you’re irresponsible to be shooting at a time like this, why would I trust you at a normal time?” She cites rumors of a circulating blacklist of performers who are working during the shutdown.
The business is distinctive in that outbreaks that halt production is not uncommon. Almost all the performers I spoke with have faced production moratoriums following outbreaks. According to a list provided by the FSC, there were two shutdowns in 2018, one in 2017 and another in 2015.
Performer Lotus Lain tells me that “any type of shutdown is always followed by a few people panicking and lashing out on Twitter.”
Foxxx says she has been in the industry during two previous moratoriums: one that lasted for two weeks and another that she says lasted for nearly three months. She adds that the two-week moratorium had little effect on the industry, but the three-month ban resulted in losing “a big chunk of our talent who couldn’t afford to hang around.”
"The shutdown is only going to strongly emphasize how important it is for [performers] to own their content and residual income streams."
The coronavirus moratorium is different: Unemployment is taking over industries nationwide, and the exit routes available to performers during other shutdowns are harder to access now.
That’s why many performers are shifting to newer platforms such as OnlyFans and ManyVids, several of which are less than a decade old. But others are skeptical since the newer platforms operate outside the PASS system. Performers regularly mention the talent pool, by which they mean the group of performers actively shooting, but the talent pool for the new, pay-per-view platforms is wider and less regulated than the pool involved with the major studios. Falcon calls the new platforms “a blessing and a curse,” adding that performers are now able to have complete control over their shoots and businesses, but operating outside industry regulations makes the work riskier.
The move from studios to the newer platforms has been in progress for years. Some newer stars such as Addie Andrews shoot with studios only once or twice a month. Andrews, who has been in the industry for less than two years, tells me, “Performers have been pushed in that direction for a while. The shutdown is only going to strongly emphasize how important it is for them to own their content and residual income streams. Companies can offer a small paycheck and a boost in clout for their personal brands, but they don’t offer a steady or reliable income source.”
For performers like her who operate mostly on streaming sites, the coronavirus hasn’t affected business—but Andrews, who now does mostly solo work, told me that even on her OnlyFans channel she works only with scene partners who are PASS-tested.
The coronavirus has changed the economy for now, but it seems to have shifted the porn industry permanently. Previous moratoriums ended the production of new pornography, but they didn’t occur during times when most of the public was home and porn viewership was sharply rising. With surging demand, performers feel more essential than ever, but many of them are on career standby—with no end to the crisis in sight.
3 years ago