African-American porn actorsĪre often paid less than their white counterparts (a Black female headliner may get $500 to $700 a scene, white females by contrast can routinely bank more than $1,000). Yet, past and present white female porn stars such as retired legend Jenna Jameson and current blue queen Alexis Texas have refused to perform with Black men. Interracial porn may be one of the industry’s most popular genres. None of these issues have been enough to bridge the gap. The multibillion-dollar industry is battling through a decline in revenues, studios have reported a 30 percent drop off as far back as 2009 (blame pirated online content and the ability for virtually anyone to shoot an adult fi lm on the cheap).
Meanwhile, practitioners of professional pornography face the same overarching issues concerning their livelihood. The sometimes-dark world of X-rated erotica is not immune to the stinging reality of discrimination. The Assassination Of Haiti's President Jovenel Moïse: What We Know So Far “The guy at my first meeting told me, ‘We can’t sell Black women… You’re not desirable to our audience. However, as an African-American, what DeVoe wasn’t fully prepared for was what she calls unapologetic racism. “I didn’t have any moral issues with porn because I was already shooting people doing it,” the 36-yearold explains from her L.A.
But as she sat in a cluttered Los Angeles office in the winter of 1999, there was no turning back. An unavoidable scarlet letter that is forever branded onto those individuals who are brazen- or disturbed, or adventurous-enough to be paid to perform sexual acts on camera.ĭeVoe, a college-educated native of Hawaii, had always had a fascination with the adult film industry going back to her days when she briefly operated a swinger’s club in the late ’90s in her home state. You have to be when you aspire to break into the porn business. ALEXANDERĭIANA DEVOE WAS WELL aware of the consequences. VIBE TALKS TO AFRICANAMERICAN PORN ACTORS WHO ARE TIRED OF BEING JERKED AROUND, UNLESS, OF COURSE, THERE’S A RESPECTABLE CHECK INVOLVED BLACK PORN STARS HAVE BEEN GETTING THE SHAFT FOR DECADES, OPERATING IN THE SHADOWS OF THE MULTIBILLION-DOLLAR INDUSTRY AND PUTTING IN LONG WORK FOR SHORT PAY.