these performers expose abuse consent issues on porn set

If you’re ever wondering why porn performers never publicly speak out about abuse or violence they experience on set while still in the industry, read on.

This is the real account of two (and more) performers who have endured non-consensual violence at the hands of a male performer and director. The following details are graphic and triggering to those who have experienced abuse and/or struggled with porn.

A couple of years ago, two up-and-coming porn performers released an hour-long YouTube confessional video (link trigger warning) that has now been taken down, graphically describing their reported mistreatment and alleged abuse on two different professional, mainstream porn sets. The performers, Leigh Raven and Riley Nixon, shared their raw and shocking experiences, which had many similarities—even the same people, director Just Dave and male performer Rico Strong—and complex questions about consent in porn.

In the confessional video that has now been removed from YouTube, Raven told her story first. The shoot in question took place in March 2018, just a few days before the video was released. She described knowing Rico Strong prior to the shoot and even said they were friends. He asked her to fill in for a no-show and described the scene as “rough sex” with some “racial play.” In her video, Raven states she never would engage in racial slurs to people of color, but in this scene, the comments were to be directed at her. She agreed.

Over the course of the next six hours until the shoot ended, Raven said what she endured was unlike anything else she had experienced before in her career. Her first clue was near the beginning when Strong said something about “Black payback,” entered the scene, and smacked her hard across the face.

A violent scene gone extremely wrong

It should be noted that the following descriptions of abuse on the porn set are triggering, and graphic. We won’t include everything that happened to Raven here, but if you’d like to know the full account, check out Jezebel’s coverage (link trigger warning) of the situation.

After the initial face hit, Raven claims Strong moved into an extremely rough oral sex scene that almost suffocated her, despite repeated attempts to communicate her inability to breathe. Raven alleged that if she tried to pull back she was hit and called names, while Just Dave was increasingly frustrated that she wasn’t vomiting from the force of the act—a genre in porn called “facial abuse” that used to be more niche but is becoming more mainstream.

Cover image screenshot from Nikki Hearts’ YouTube (note: the video has been made private). 12-minute read.

TRIGGER WARNING

The following post contains porn performer names and information, graphic descriptions of porn videos, and graphic descriptions of abusive situations.

If you’re ever wondering why porn performers never publicly speak out about abuse or violence they experience on set while still in the industry, read on.

This is the real account of two (and more) performers who have endured non-consensual violence at the hands of a male performer and director. The following details are graphic and triggering to those who have experienced abuse and/or struggled with porn.

A couple of years ago, two up-and-coming porn performers released an hour-long YouTube confessional video (link trigger warning) that has now been taken down, graphically describing their reported mistreatment and alleged abuse on two different professional, mainstream porn sets. The performers, Leigh Raven and Riley Nixon, shared their raw and shocking experiences, which had many similarities—even the same people, director Just Dave and male performer Rico Strong—and complex questions about consent in porn.

In the confessional video that has now been removed from YouTube, Raven told her story first. The shoot in question took place in March 2018, just a few days before the video was released. She described knowing Rico Strong prior to the shoot and even said they were friends. He asked her to fill in for a no-show and described the scene as “rough sex” with some “racial play.” In her video, Raven states she never would engage in racial slurs to people of color, but in this scene, the comments were to be directed at her. She agreed.

Over the course of the next six hours until the shoot ended, Raven said what she endured was unlike anything else she had experienced before in her career. Her first clue was near the beginning when Strong said something about “Black payback,” entered the scene, and smacked her hard across the face.

Consider Before Consuming

A violent scene gone extremely wrong

It should be noted that the following descriptions of abuse on the porn set are triggering, and graphic. We won’t include everything that happened to Raven here, but if you’d like to know the full account, check out Jezebel’s coverage (link trigger warning) of the situation.

After the initial face hit, Raven claims Strong moved into an extremely rough oral sex scene that almost suffocated her, despite repeated attempts to communicate her inability to breathe. Raven alleged that if she tried to pull back she was hit and called names, while Just Dave was increasingly frustrated that she wasn’t vomiting from the force of the act—a genre in porn called “facial abuse” that used to be more niche but is becoming more mainstream.

Related: Would Taking Away The Issue Of Performer Exploitation Make Porn More Acceptable?

“Rico was then sticking his d— in my mouth as far as he could while I was giving him, you know, leg squeezes, leg nudges, to ease up, but he wasn’t easing up,” Raven said in the video. “He actually acknowledged the fact that I wanted his d— out of my mouth so I could breathe, because it was becoming unbearable at this point, because…essentially, I’m choking [on my own vomit].”

All of this occurred before the intercourse scene. When it came time for that portion of filming, Raven was slapped by Strong on various parts of her body, she was forced to perform a position she had previously notified her director she could not do without pain, she was injured during penetration, and choked to near unconsciousness.

In her account, her taps and signals to ease up were ignored. Just Dave had promised to call cut if there were any signs of discomfort, and yet with tears running down her face, Raven says he did not call cut.

The following day Raven filed a police report and was encouraged to undergo a medical evaluation which discovered a vaginal tear and a bruised cervix.

But she wasn’t the only professional performer who had this kind of experience with this performer and director. Months later, in an interview with Adult Video News after her story went public, Raven said, “I received about a dozen DMs and emails from women in the industry telling me they experienced the same thing on the same set … but didn’t want to come forward in fear of losing work. I have written proof/photos of their injuries but I will not ‘out’ a girl who doesn’t feel comfortable coming forward … and at this point, I don’t blame them.”

The backlash she received for her public confessional video was intense.

Raven reportedly tried to press criminal charges for the alleged assault on set, but her case was not taken seriously by the L.A. District Attorney. But why? There could be any number of reasons, but consider how issues of consent in the porn industry are often dismissed and stigmatized by those outside of the industry, and porn performers cannot reliably report abuse that happens on set without damage to their career, reputations, or without being stigmatized by law enforcement.