Page 12 - AVN November 2016

WE’VE GOT ISSUES | | By Sharan Street
NOVEMBER 2016
Talking Points Black stars talk about their lives in porn
rainbow orgy scene featuring Stone, September Reign,
given that the genre has been one of the
One could hardly call interracial porn a “trend,”
Lauren Phillips, Priya Rai, Luna Star, Nikita Denise,
mainstays of adult entertainment. But there’s
Tony Martinez and, of course, Ron Jeremy. Wood also
no denying that movies pairing black men
did a web-only scene pitching his own porn series
and white women—the usual combination that comes
offering positive portrayals of black people, Affirmative
into play when the IR label is deployed—have been
Actions (including appearances by Phillips, Jeremy and
selling briskly. So when the AVN editorial team set
Alana Evans).
out to do a cover story on IR, we decided that rather
In July on the series Vice Does America, which aired
than talking to adult studios about the creation,
on the Vice Channel, host Abdullah Saeed also
distribution and marketing of interracial movies,
touched on the porn/race intersection when he and
we would instead focus exclusively on the male
his crew visited Dogfart director Billy Watson and his
performers who bring this all-American fantasy to life.
cast on the set of Megyn Gets Trumped, one of the porno
On the cover are three stars who got their start
parodies sparked by Trump’s presidential candidacy.
two decades ago: Sean Michaels, Lexington Steele
Adult performer James Bartholet hammed it up as
and Mandingo. (Graciously agreeing to do the photo
Trump while Cherie DeVille played the Megyn Kelly
shoot was director Kevin Moore, Steele’s partner
character—but what really caught the Vice crew’s
in Lex Steele Productions.) Inside are some of their
attention were Prince Yahshua and Rico Strong, who
colleagues, making up an even dozen BBM (beautiful
played The Donald’s security team, whose task it was
black men). Prince Yahshua, Shane Diesel, Jason
to “pole” the newswoman.
Brown, Nat Turnher, Rico Strong and Jon Jon have
Director Watson was more than up to the challenge
all been active for more than a decade, while Moe
of having the inquisitive Vice team on set, even
Johnson, Flash Brown and Isiah Maxwell are more
putting the three hosts—Abdullah, Wilbert and
recent arrivals on the scene.
Martina—to work on the XXX set as part of the
AVN asked these performers many of the same
production crew. Amid the laughter, more serious
questions, and each of them gave thoughtful, heartfelt
comments emerge. Wilfred and Watson listened as
answers. Read on to learn more about how they got
Yahshua talked about the challenges of “navigating
into porn, and what they like most and least about
your way through a highly racist business” and Strong
their chosen career. Some of them have also worked
explains the “interracial” label in porn.
in the director’s chair—most notably Sean Michaels,
Recently the IR debate came even closer to home
Lexington Steele and Prince Yahshua—so they talk
when in September the Adult Performer Advocacy
about those experiences as well.
Committee came out with a statement which read, in
We also asked all of these men whether they had
part, “APAC is aware that using race as a determining
experienced any barriers in their careers, and the
factor in work and pay rate has become common
consensus was that despite the great successes they
business practice. However, we feel this must change
have had in the business, many have found that the
in order to create better work environments in the
porn industry is not immune from the racial divides
industry. Although APAC supports and respects the
that continue to roil American society.
personal choices that performers make when it comes
In the summer of 2015, former adult star Aurora
to rates, scene partners, and types of scenes to work
Snow wrote a column for Daily Beast titled “Why
in, we feel choosing to work with someone based on
Porn’s ‘Interracial’ Label Is Racist.” Snow talked
race as a business practice has a negative impact on
to several performers and made the argument that
the performer community. It is important to keep
paying white women a higher rate to do their “first
in mind that scene partners are not simply personal
interracial” amounted to discrimination. “Performers
sex partners on set; they are co-workers. It is not an
of color don’t have opportunities like that,” performer
acceptable practice in any other industry to choose
Daisy Ducati told Snow. “No one’s going to pay me
who someone works with solely based on race.”
more to fuck a white person.”
Since the statement was issued, it’s fair to say that
Snow’s essay was not the last time the issue of race
the industry’s attention has been utterly consumed
and porn came up in the mainstream. In February
by the fight against Proposition 60 (don’t forget to
2016, The Daily Show put a comedic spin on the
vote NO on November 8). Once that battle is over,
subject. In the piece, Daily Show correspondent Roy
it will be interesting to see how companies react to
Wood Jr. discussed the issue with industry luminaries
APAC’s challenge. But whatever arrangements that
Misty Stone, Prince Yahshua and Lisa Ann, as well
agents, producers and performers negotiate among
as sex therapist and author Dr. Marty Klein (also
themselves, porn consumers’ appetite for watching
quoted by Snow). Though there were some pointed
mixed-race sex will remain. And fortunately for them,
comments (including a bit where Lisa Ann wrote
there’s no shortage of high-quality titles available to
out a long list across two whiteboards of acts that
stock. You’ll find a small sampling in this month’s
white starlets will perform before doing interracial),
stocking guide in between pages 26 and 27, as well as
the segment ended with a fantasy all-colors-of-the-
in AVN’s sales charts, starting on page 100.
12 | AVN.com | 11.16