POLITICS OF PORN
Love him or hate him, there is no denying that Michael Lucas is a dominant force in gay porn today. He is the president of New York’s largest gay-adult-film company, Lucas Entertainment, and its biggest star. But arguably, it isn’t his films that are getting the most ink in media these days. Michael’s controversial commentary on everything from pedophilia, bare-backing and anti-Semitism in the gay community are what seem to grabbing the most headlines. We spoke with Michael to discuss why he has chosen to be so vocal about his views and how mixing politics with porn is affecting his porn empire.
What is rattling your cage? Is there an issue that you feel particularly adamant about today?
I define myself as a Jewish atheist so no religious issues bother me. Politically, I am deeply worried about the situation in the Middle East, the increasingly aggressive posture of Iran and the growing worldwide hostility towards Israel. Here in America, my main concern is the stalemate of vitally important issues that comes from the absolute polarization between the two political blocks.
It’s rare for an adult film star to use his celebrity as a platform to express his thoughts and opinions. Why have you chosen to be so open?
I have always been vocal in expressing my opinions on issues I care about deeply, even opinions which are not so popular. If my popularity as a porn star gives my opinions additional resonance, then all the better.
What has influenced your activism?
Life. Growing up in communist class rooms in my native Russia, I directly experienced anti-Semitic discrimination and the hurt and the shame that comes from it. The security of a Jewish homeland where none of this will ever happen again has become deeply important to me. I also read history and follow current events and travel a lot.
Did being gay in communist Russia add to your struggle?
Yes. Russia is both anti-Semitic and homophobic, so I got it from both sides. Such discrimination will either break you or make you a fighter. Fortunately, I became a fighter.
Has being so vocal hurt or helped your porn business?
I actually don’t care. I speak out on certain issues because I feel strongly about them and that’s quite apart from my work as a businessman.
Does it upset you to read the negative comments that are rampant all over the web?
Some negative responses do upset me, some amuse me. The many positive responses encourage me.
What do you think is the biggest misperception about you?
That I am a cold and distant person. I am actually very warm, funny and sensitive. I care deeply about my friends and family.
Michael, are you anti-Muslim?
Yes. I believe all organised religion throughout history has been a force for the bad. I believe that whenever religion has influenced politics, the world has become a worse place. Most Muslim countries prove this point. Their leaders are hypocritical and corrupt and its the people who suffer, especially the women and minorities. Is it a coincidence that the ten countries that still impose the death penalty for same sex relationships are all Muslim? Even in the worst days of the old Soviet Union, gay people were not sentenced to death. And, of course, I get personally mad at them whenever I have to take off my shoes at airport security.
Do you truly believe the gay community is increasingly anti-Israel and anti-Semitic?
In my mind, being anti-Israel is just a new way of being anti-Semitic. And yes, the gay community does sometimes make unthinking alliances with supposedly progressive forces who think Muslim countries are nuts just because Israel exists.
Is that why Lucas Entertainment is now sponsoring gay tours of Israel?
I sponsor gay tours to Israel because Israel is a beautiful country and gays and lesbians have a wonderful time there. Everybody who traveled with me last year loved it. My next tour leaves May 11th.
Queerty labeled your political opinions on Israel as virulent, frightening Islamophobia. Your reaction?
I think if Queerty calls you names, its sort of a compliment.
Do you support pedophilia?
Of course not. This question probably comes from a column I wrote in The Advocate, which was misunderstood by some. In it, I made a clear distinction between pedophiles and child molesters. Pedophile inclinations are much more widespread than we realize but most pedophiles are in control of their feelings and never touch a child. I also made it quite clear I firmly believe that child molestation is a crime.
What are your feelings about President Obama?
I think he was a much better campaigner then a president. As a President, he appears weak and indecisive. Decisiveness is a very important quality in a President.
What government leader has come closest to meeting your ideal?
Winston Churchill; for his bravery when all Europe surrendered to the Nazis. I admire his perseverance because he didn’t let his country fall while the rest of Europe submitted. He united his country and was a real fighter. And he was one of the few people who knew Hitler’s true nature from the very beginning.
How did your colleagues in porn react to your opposition to bareback films?
I chose early on to follow my ethics and always promote safe sex in my films. Those who produce bareback movies don’t like that I so vocally condemn what they do. I actually think that their argument that bareback movies don’t do harm because “porn is just a fantasy” is dangerous bullshit because porn does strongly influence community norms.
What bothers you most about the current state of the adult film business?
People who are illegally downloading my films. I consider it stealing. There is no difference between shoplifting clothing from a store and downloading an adult film for free. It costs a lot of time, hard work, and money to produce these films.
In today’s world, where naked pictures are all over the web for free, is porn still profitable?
Most free porn (except what is stolen) is actually crap. That’s good enough for some people but there are still plenty who enjoy really good porn made by professionals.
When will you turn 40?
Next year. March 10th, 2012. I think I am the only person in the industry who doesn’t lie about his age.
How much longer do you plan to remain in the business?
I have no plans to retire anytime soon. I actually consider 40 to be quite young. I also consider 50 to be young. It’s all about how you feel and how you make other people feel about yourself.
Can you see any of today’s young stars following your footsteps and launching their own porn business?
I am sure some will try, but I don’t see other companies opening. It’s very hard to build a brand in today’s environment.
How has porn changed since you launched Lucas Entertainment?
It’s become a complicated business. There is much more competition and many more different ways to reach the customer. It took forty years to go from 8mm reels to VHS tapes to DVD. Today, there are dozens of ways to deliver the product and new ones pop up regularly. You really
for real?. wow, what a moron. it’s a good thing i don’t watch his company’s movies; i’d have to throw them away. idjit.
[i used to date someone whose parents found it easier to be jewish in egypt than to be non-white in israel. but there’s no discrimination there. nope.]
So being anti-Israel is being Anti-Semitic? What a load of crap. There’s a difference between being Anti-Zionist and Anti-Jew.
And you’re against organized religion? Erm … isn’t that what Judaism is?
You practise the same prejudice you rail against.
Rather stick to sucking cock on camera.
….. According to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. yes, anti-Zionism = anti-Semitism:
“…You de_clare, my friend, that you do not hate the Jews, you are merely ‘anti-Zionist.’ And I say, let the truth ring forth from the high mountain tops, let it echo through the valleys of God’s green earth: When people criticize Zionism, they mean Jews__this is God’s own truth…”
I don’t think a man who devoted his entire life to the struggle of equality would have supported a “racist”/”apartheid” state as all you empty-headed fools constantly preach. It’s time to wake up people!! Israel is the only truly democratic country in the Middle East.
LONG LIVE ISRAEL!!!!!!!
Nice. Nicely said 🙂
CM and my opinion. Hey CM
You really need to learn your facts before making statements. Michael never said he is a practicing Jew. Judiasim is also a nation and a people as well as a religion. All he said was that he is Jewish and an athiest. The two do not contradict. And I have absolutly no idea when the gay community is going to get their collective heads out of thier asses and realize that Islam as it is today is extremly dangerious and that Michael is making an extremly valid point. Tell you what, as an experiment go to Tel Aviv and hold your boyfriends hand and kiss him in public. Then go to Theran and do the same thing. If you live please let me know what it was like.
I personally agree with everything he said here and I admire his honesty and bravery in expressing such contreversial opinions.
BTW Islamaphobia is bullshit as unlike antisemitism, homophobia, racism etc Islam could actually one day kill you or someone you know for just being what you are.
Actually you have it wrong, he said he was Jewish (which although may be considered being a Jew, is still a term closely associated with the religion). Judaism on the other had always refers to the religion.
idiot. you cannot judge an entire religion based on the leaders of arab countries and their laws…they might use religion as a guise for their tyrany and oppression but its politics that placed them there…not god or Islam…
dont listen to this pseudo-intellectual douchebag. His rhetoric does little to cover up his ignorance and ironically his bias and prejudice…and he pouts way too much in his movies…unbelievably annoying can never get turned on!
He is forever jewish!. Just need to clear up something about who is jewish. If your mother is jewish or you converted to judaism, you are a jew. Even if a jew converts to christianity or islam, he is still considered a jew by other jews. Even if he de_clares himself atheist, he is still recognised as a jew by his fellow jews. So Michael Lucas is a jew.
I also agree with his views on radical islam. If you ever travel to islamic countries and then visit Israel, you will see that Israel remains a country whwre gays (both jews and arabs) can live openly without fear of persecution and death.
As for his anti-bareback stance, he is being a hypocrite: I have seen bareback sex in his movies, including swallowing cum, which is also bareback to me.
elthorian. no, elthorian, YOU get your facts straight. i made no reference to whether he is a jew or not. i don’t give a flying fuck if he is jewish, atheist, or whatever. i discussed that anti-zionism is not anti-semitism. one can be against the zionist regime, but have no problem with judaism. and judaism is not a nation. it’s a religion. there is a difference between the religion, it’s people, the state of israel, and the zionist agenda. it’s convenient to lump the lot together, but there are, for example, jews who are rabidly against zionism.
you say being jewish and being atheist don’t contradict each other. wtf?
maybe you should get your singular head out of your own arse, before exhorting the ‘gay collective’ to do so.
Behold the rabble rouser!. CM, I could not resist the temptation to respond to you on behalf of Elthorian. Clearly you are ignorant of the facts, so please allow me to shed some light on your dark little ‘shit-filled’ mind:
(1) the Zionist ideal is a facet of Judaism – and Israel is to the Jews what the Vatican City is to Roman Catholics or Mecca and Medina are to the Muslims. The Jewish Bible mentions the land of Israel countless times and the Jews have always longed to return to the homeland they were expelled from in circa 70 AD by the Romans. So where is this great difference between Judaism and Zionism which you so emphatically insist upon?
(2) You claim that Judaism ‘is a religion, not a nation’. What evidence do you have to support this claim besides your own agenda? If DNA testing reveals that the Jews (from Europe and the Middle East) share common ancestry then it seems you’re incorrect. The Jews are indeed a nation.
(3) It follows, then, that a Jew can be an atheist and history abounds with examples: Einstein and Freud are perhaps the two most famous cases of Jewish atheists.
I wonder: what compels you to comment on a topic you clearly know NOTHING about? Could it be your clandestine hatred of the Jews which you so vehemently deny by dichotomizing Judaism and Zionism? Please do us all a favor and keep your mouth shut because your breath reeks of the foul stench of stupidity and a desire to distort the truth.
Those of us who are lovers of the truth must speak out against people like you who deliberately seek to distort the facts so as to further your own perverted agendas. it reminds me of something that highly respected Jewish atheist once said:
“The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it” – EINSTEIN
(and, just by the way, Einstein was also a Zionist).
Hello! ecdfged interesting ecdfged site! I’m really like it! Very, very ecdfged good!
Very nice site!
Hello! fcebeke interesting fcebeke site! I’m really like it! Very, very fcebeke good!
Very nice site!