Members of the Los Angeles County Commission for Women heard testimony about peoples’ encounters
with porn at a hearing on April 22, 1985. This account appears in In Harm’s Way: The Pornography Civil Rights Hearings (p.351-352).
Testimony of Peter Bogdanovich
Since Dorothy [Stratten] was killed, a lot of women have written to me or told me what Playboy has done to them [Stratten, who appeared in Playboy, was murdered by her pimp husband]. Even if they manage to avoid personal liaison within the sex factories, they spend the rest of their lives trying to forget it, or live it down, or cover it up, or get away from it. Other young women have been tricked, pressured, blackmailed into pornography, and they have trouble, there’s trouble getting them out. Actresses who have consented to some nudity in legitimate films, pictures of this have been put into pornography without their consent. Cybill Shepherd had that happen to her when, from a picture we did together–and believe me, if I had that scene to do over again, we’d just as soon not do it naked, because it wasn’t really necessary.There are lucky ones who won lawsuits. They could afford lawsuits, but didn’t repair what happened to them. Since my last testimony, I’ve been in touch with many people in the entertainment field… They, along with the people that I’m mentioning, the silent people, they’re all afraid to come down here and tell you exactly about their experiences… Women who were in pornography are afraid to speak out because it will call attention to their past, which will destroy the margin of legitimacy that they have been able to establish for themselves. These women live in fear of exposure, and there are a lot of them.
The pornographers and their supporters are so powerful, and the connection between the pornography industry and the legitimate entertainment industry is so intimate, that directors and producers and writers and creative people of all kinds do not feel able to take a stand against pornography because they’re going to be blackmailed by legitimate studios, distribution houses, etc. Some say, “Just wait till I get this distributed, then I’ll be free to go down and tell you what I know,” or “I’m waiting to sell a TV show…” The real story is that people are intimidated out of speaking by those in power over their lives…
See also:
Testimony in Minneapolis: Likeness of TV Star “Rhoda” Misappropriated by Pornographers; Aspiring Actresses Vulnerable to Being Enticed into Porn
…I was told about an advertisement in Hustler magazine which I saw. It was for T-shirts called Shock Tops that people could send away for. The buyer had their choice of seven famous women pictured in the nude; all of our full names were listed and, of course, choice of color of T-shirt. I was appalled and angry and had meetings with a lawyer regarding what action I should take. All my then advisors, this attorney, my personal manager (regarding career) and my business manager (regarding accounting and finances) advised strongly against taking any action whatsoever. They all concurred that it would be extremely costly and would draw attention to and sell more of the shirts…
Testimony in Minneapolis: Prostitutes and Porn (explicit language)
It is very amazing to me what happens when a group of ex-prostitutes get together in one room and tell stories. One of the things we discovered was that the men we had serviced were very powerful men in this community. Especially interesting to us are the amounts of men involved in the media in this community that use prostitutes and pornography. These are the same men that perpetuate the myth that Minneapolis is a clean city with exceptional morals and a high quality of life.
Gregory Dark
Wikipedia: “Dark is most well known for directing hardcore and softcore pornographic films between the mid-1980s and 1990s. However, currently Dark is a sought after music video director, helming videos for popular recording artists such as Linkin Park, Snoop Dogg, Britney Spears and The Calling. His first major motion picture, See No Evil, was released nationwide on May 19, 2006 for Lions Gate Entertainment.”
After the Traci Lords’ underage porn scandal in the 1980s, The Austin Chronicle reports that “Dark survived that particular scuffle with decency and went on to helm a series of sequels of exponentially increasing moistness before segueing sans irony into the world of music-video direction, which ironically culminated with the Nabokovian, borderline creepy schoolgirl bump ‘n’ grind of Britney Spears’ Hit Me Baby One More Time.”