(Video: Yaron Brener)
A prominent adult film producer alleges that he has been boycotted by porn actors for his support of Israel after he posted to social media a photo of an IDF rocket with his name written on it.
Read more:
Michael Lucas, 51, a director, entrepreneur and CEO of Lucas Entertainment, a U.S. company that distributes gay pornographic films, said that an IDF soldier wrote his name on the rocket and sent him a picture as a gesture of gratitude for delivering donations to the army.
On December 17, he posted the photo to X with the caption "Hahaha I actually asked to write my name. Got a pic before and after" in jest as a reply to a user who hurled antisemitic and homophobic abuse at him on social media.
Two weeks later, the photo began making rounds online, leading to criticism against him, which materialized into a boycott. "They decided to twist it to say that I actually want this bomb to kill women and children, which is a distortion of the truth," he told Ynet.
Lucas, who is Jewish and a prominent figure in the gay community, says that many of his ideological views are inspired by his Jewish identity and deep connection to the State of Israel. In 2009, Lucas directed The Men of Israel, which is considered the first gay pornographic film shot in Israel with an all-Israeli cast.
If I understand right, even actors and models won't work with you.
"The boycott is from models. Yes, it's driven by some antisemites in the industry specifically by the foreign blog and by an Iranian American model, and some other antisemites... Ten models that worked for me for years issued statements condemning me, and then there are a lot of models that just canceled their participation in the next production. And then there are those that are just ignorant and don't know anything about this war but are influenced by some media outlets."
Have you anticipated this backlash?
"No, I thought it's very clear that the bomb was for Hamas. You think everyone knows what was done to us on October 7 and not one of these models posted anything. Not one of them. They also never post anything about any conflict. They never post anything."
Why would anyone in the porn industry care who you support? Isn't this an apolitical industry?
"You know I'm the only Jewish owner of an adult company in the gay side of the industry. There's no other Jew. So is it a coincidence that I'm being boycotted? It's nothing new."
Porn aside, a lot of gay Jews are experiencing antisemitism lately.
"It's blossomed. I mean, I don't think there was ever such antisemitism. It's insane. I mean, on October 7, the most Jewish people died since the Holocaust, and if you fast forward three months later, a Jewish business owner in the industry is boycotted. How twisted it is that after the murder of so many Jews, Jews are now suffering more, and antisemitism has blossomed. You know, models are sitting on TikTok and it's flooded with antisemitic propaganda. Not all of them are antisemitic, but when there is so much propaganda."
What about adding a gay Jewish porn actor?
"Jewish boys are nice, but I don't know any Jewish models today in the gay side of the industry. Some are straight, but there's nobody in the gay porn industry."
Maybe there are, and they're listening to us right now.
"Don't do it. Don't upset your families. I'm doing it for you. But anyone can subscribe. It was actually very nice that I saw a lot of Jewish people had subscribed, and some of them are straight and they wrote to me and they said, 'I'm not going to watch it, but I just wanted to support you,' it was very nice.
"What matters to me is that Jewish people are supporting me. Israelis stop me in the streets and that is very rewarding. Even my father, who's usually not complimenting me since he's Russian, called me, and said 'I'm very proud of you that you didn't back down and didn't apologize.' My brother said the same and that's all that matters in my life. I rely on the approval of a very small group of people that actually matter to me."