Porn performers differ in their views on Project 2025, the right-wing plan to — among other measures — outlaw pornography and imprison its creators. As Mashable reported last month, some think it's merely a scare tactic used by Democrats. Others, however, see it as an existential threat to their livelihoods.
Nearly 20 performers in the latter camp are part of a new digital ad campaign announced today called Hands Off My Porn. The $100,000 campaign will appear on adult content websites in swing states — Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada — and warn viewers about the potential outcomes of Project 2025, according to a press release sent to Mashable. Pornhub is currently blocked in North Carolina due to age-verification laws, which require proof of age to view sites that primarily host adult content. The announcement also stated that the ads will soon appear in more states, too.
The ads will link to the Hands Off My Porn site, where viewers can watch safe-for-work video testimonials from performers like Siri Dahl about the dangers of Project 2025. The site also provides links to register to vote and donate to the political action committee Artists United for Change.
"In my 12 years since I started my career in the adult film industry, I've seen a lot of political attacks on our industry," said Siri Dahl in the press release. "But Project 2025's plan to make pornography illegal and throw all the pornographers in jail is really the worst example yet. This plan of Project 2025's is an egregious attack on your right to privacy, and not to mention it's just purely unconstitutional."
These performers are certainly not alone in their fears: nearly 89 percent of adult content creators are concerned about cultural and political attacks on the adult industry, according to research firm SWR Data. Concern among trans performers (93 percent), creators of color (94 percent), and gay and lesbian creators (100 percent) were the highest, in data sent to Mashable.
"I'm deeply concerned about how Project 2025 could impact not just our personal freedoms but also the rights of sex workers and the adult film industry as a whole,” said performer Cherie Deville in the Hands Off My Porn announcement. (DeVille has written for Mashable.) "These policies have the potential to undermine our work, our rights, and our ability to create content safely and freely. This is about protecting our livelihoods and ensuring that sex workers aren't pushed further into the margins."
