Porn sensation Cherie DeVille shares her perspective on Laila Mickelwait’s controversial book, “Takedown: Inside the Fight to Shut Down Pornhub for Abuse, Rape, and Sex Trafficking.” DeVille, a prominent figure in the adult industry, offers a detailed analysis of Mickelwait’s narrative and its implications for legal adult performers.

Cherie DeVille opens her critique with a personal reflection, expressing a sense of being targeted by Mickelwait’s anti-porn campaign. “Laila Mickelwait hates porn,” DeVille asserts. “And after reading her new book, I can’t help but think she might hate me, one of the adult industry’s favorite stepmoms, too.”

Mickelwait’s journey, as detailed in her book, started with a glamorous lifestyle in Hollywood, rubbing shoulders with celebrities at the Playboy Mansion and participating in reality TV shows. However, her path took a drastic turn when she joined Exodus Cry, an anti-porn group. Here, Mickelwait launched her #Traffickinghub campaign, aiming to expose and combat illegal content on Pornhub, alleging it was a hub for sex trafficking and child pornography.

DeVille questions Mickelwait’s true intentions, suggesting that the campaign against Pornhub is a front to dismantle the entire legal porn industry. “Mickelwait insists she just wants to stop child pornography and rape,” DeVille writes, “Still, legal adult entertainers have long argued that her mission is a Trojan Horse to end the law-abiding porn industry.”

DeVille critiques Mickelwait for focusing excessively on her role in the campaign rather than the victims she claims to champion.

“The book succeeds when Mickelwait gets out of her own way,” DeVille observes, noting that Mickelwait often shifts focus to her media appearances and personal anecdotes.

DeVille highlights several instances where Mickelwait allegedly misrepresents the adult industry. She points out Mickelwait’s use of outdated or out-of-context quotes from former porn stars and inaccuracies in describing how porn platforms operate. DeVille argues that Mickelwait’s depiction of Pornhub’s algorithms and legal processes is selective and misleading.

A significant portion of DeVille’s critique focuses on the real-world consequences of Mickelwait’s campaign for legal adult performers. DeVille notes that while Mickelwait celebrates the financial and operational difficulties faced by Pornhub executives, she overlooks the collateral damage to legitimate performers whose livelihoods have been jeopardized.

While Mickelwait claims victory in her campaign, DeVille argues that the changes implemented by Pornhub, such as mandatory ID verification for uploads, were already long-demanded by performers. Furthermore, DeVille criticizes Mickelwait for not targeting larger platforms like Facebook, which reportedly hosts more illegal content.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children published its annual report on platform safety, and found that Facebook and other platforms the company owns, including Instagram and Whatsapp, self-reported 20,307,216 instances for child exploitative content in 2020. By comparison, Mindgeek, the parent company of multiple adult content companies including Pornhub, YouPorn, RedTube, Brazzers, and more, reported 13,229 instances of child exploitative content that year; 4,171 of those were unique reports.

Cherie DeVille expresses skepticism about Mickelwait’s motives and the broader implications of her campaign. “In the end, Mickelwait’s crusade puts the livelihoods of legal porn actors like me in jeopardy,” DeVille states, emphasizing that the unintended consequences of the campaign have caused significant harm to the adult entertainment community.

DeVille’s critique underscores the need for a balanced discourse on issues of online content and regulation, advocating for solutions that protect both victims of exploitation and the rights of legal adult performers.

You can read the full story in the Daily Beast.

And you can follow Cherie DeVille on X at @cheriedeville.