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About a month shy of Election Day, it seems no corner of America is free from politics — not even porn websites.
On Monday, a coalition of 17 members of the pornographic film industry launched "Hands Off My Porn," a $100,00 advertising campaign that ties former President Donald Trump to Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation's blueprint for a future Republican administration, and its plan to ban pornography. The advertisement will run on porn websites in the seven key battleground states: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada.
In the final stretch of the campaigns, the gender divide among voters is becoming increasingly stark, with Vice President Kamala Harris leading among women and Trump among men. Young men are a particularly coveted voting bloc that both candidates are trying to woo through targeted media appearances.
Porn websites are some of the internet's most popular pages and young men are most likely to visit them, the New York Times reported. Organizers for "Hands Off My Porn" cite data from the Survey on American Life demonstrating that 44% of men between the ages of 18 and 29 had watched porn in the last month. Among those aged 30 to 49, the share jumps to 57%.
Trump has tried to distance himself from Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation's blueprint for a future Republican administration, but Democrats are making it hard for him to do so. The latest advertising effort is one among many that connects the former president and the conservative plan, which some of his allies helped create.
The porn stars' advertisement warns that Project 2025 wants to ban pornography and lock up its producers. And the "Hands Off My Porn" website hammers the point home — it calls the Project 2025 architects "weirdos" and says that "Trump's allies" want to rid the country of pornography.
"Since the Fall of 2023, President Trump's campaign made it clear that only President Trump and the campaign, and NOT any other organization or former staff, represent policies for the second term," Danielle Alvarez, a senior advisor for the Trump campaign, told Business Insider in a statement when asked about the new ad.
Holly Randall, a director and producer, told Business Insider in a statement that her industry is under "very real threat of total criminalization."
"While the immediate danger are the actors, crew, and many others who depend on the industry to make a living, we should not ignore the real threat to those who are our fans, our consumers," Randall said in the statement.
The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Randall said that organizers have not coordinated with Democrats or the Harris campaign, but hope to independently increase their advertising budget should they receive enough support.
