A recent Mashable article surveyed adult performers' reactions to Project 2025, a conservative initiative that includes calls to criminalize the production and distribution of pornography. The report highlighted differing views across the political spectrum within the adult industry, alongside concerns about Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris's past policies.

Project 2025 and Industry Concerns

Mashable’s Andy Hirschfeld reported on Tuesday that Project 2025, a conservative initiative for a presidential transition, proposes criminalizing the production and distribution of pornography. This initiative has generated varied opinions among adult performers.

Conservative performer Richelle Ryan stated to Mashable that Project 2025 represents only "the fringe" of the Republican Party and "has no chance of becoming actual policy." Ryan also described the initiative as "a scare tactic that Democrats are trying to use."

However, the majority of performers consulted by Mashable disagreed with Ryan's assessment. Hirschfeld noted that "Most of the performers Mashable spoke to see Trump distancing himself from Project 2025 as a farce." The article also cited The Washington Post, which reported that Donald Trump "lied more than 30,000 times during his presidential term alone."

Allie Awesome told Mashable that Project 2025 is "a clear and present danger for the sex worker community." Awesome emphasized the need to "call it out," "take it very seriously," and "educate people."

XBIZ previously reported that Russell Vought, a former Donald Trump staffer and Project 2025 co-author, informed undercover reporters in July that the Heritage Foundation-led initiative had entered a "second, more secretive phase." This phase includes tactics such as banning pornography "from the back door" through age verification legislation.

CNN noted that Vought recently served as policy director for the Republican National Convention committee responsible for formulating the party’s new official platform. CNN characterized this role as "a sign of how central he is to Republicans’ policy goals." According to CNN, Vought also expressed a desire to ensure "that we can say we are a Christian nation," identifying his viewpoint as "pretty close to Christian nationalism." CNN reported that Vought "argued that it was important to pursue some of the culturally conservative policy goals listed in the Project 2025 blueprint — including abortion restrictions and making pornography illegal."

Kamala Harris's Past Policies

The Mashable article also addressed Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris's past policies, which have been described as "stiff anti-sex worker policies." As California attorney general, Harris was involved in the shutdown of Backpage, which faced a multi-year investigation led by her office and was accused of promoting sex trafficking. This action contributed to the federal bills FOSTA/SESTA, with Harris co-sponsoring SESTA as a senator.

The article highlighted that FOSTA/SESTA "impacted their incomes and access to bank accounts, loans, and lines of credit" for sex workers, in addition to making their jobs "less safe." Sex workers also reported that the shutdown of Backpage made them "less safe."

Jessica Ryan, who identifies as a centrist politically and is unrelated to Richelle Ryan, told Mashable that she has "always been uncomfortable with her being the VP in that sense. And it's a little bit of a hard pill to swallow."

The 2024 Election Landscape

Jessica Ryan noted that the 2024 election presents adult performers and other sex workers with two choices: "One that hasn't historically been an ally to sex workers, and another whose closest confidants would like to see porn cease to exist entirely and put its creators in jail."

The Mashable article concluded that all performers consulted "shared one common perspective: politics should stay off the set." However, the article posed a question regarding the future of adult film sets "if Project 2025's authors get their way."

Key Facts

  • Mashable published an article surveying adult performers' opinions on Project 2025, which includes a call to criminalize pornography.
  • Conservative performer Richelle Ryan views Project 2025 as a "fringe" initiative and a "scare tactic" by Democrats.
  • The majority of performers consulted by Mashable disagreed with Ryan, seeing Donald Trump's distancing from Project 2025 as a "farce."
  • Allie Awesome described Project 2025 as a "clear and present danger for the sex worker community."
  • Project 2025 co-author Russell Vought indicated a "secretive phase" of the initiative, including banning pornography through age verification.
  • Kamala Harris supported FOSTA/SESTA, legislation that sex workers reported made their jobs less safe and impacted their incomes.