When I read a story in the Daily Mail today, I truly cringed. I mean, who uses the children as a marketing strategy? Apparently, Erika Lust. She recently spoke to the Daily Mail about her 12 and 15-year-old daughters, in which she said if they go into sex work when they grow up, she’ll protect her daughters.

“The filmmaker, who employs 54 staff in the production company she runs with her husband, revealed she is often asked if she’d support her daughters if they wanted to become porn actresses.”

But protect them from what? Well, American pornographers, apparently.

“[U.S. pornographers] are cheap, mentally and economically … we call them ‘fuckographers.’ They are not high-end culture people.’” — Jezebel, Erika Lust and Pablo Dobner, December 2018.

Lust, who was named one of the BBC’s 100 Most Influential Women in 2019, argued that arguments against sex work only make it more difficult and unsafe for women in the industry.

But that being said, according to an article over at Medium, “over the years, Erika Lust engaged in demeaning the bodies of American adult stars and has had allegations of boundary violations on her sets. Side note: It was only in 2021 (after several years of vehement denials and attempts to silence scrutiny) that she came to an agreement with Hello Rooster and claims to have created a performer bill of rights — something that one imagines an “ethical porn studio” would have had all along.”

What do you think? Do you think Erika Lust took her PR too far with this story in the Daily Mail? Tweet us at @Fleshbot, and let us know what you think.