When Jahan of Krewella published an op-ed on Billboard earlier this month speaking out on sexism, a widespread discussion pertaining to the roles of women in the workplace began to dominate the internet. While some argued that Yousaf’s act of self-defense in the face of extreme cyber-bullying was merely a publicity stunt, others were more receptive to the sisters’ plight. 

One such individual was Carter Cruise, an American adult film actress, model and aspiring DJ. Having immersed herself in both the music and adult film industries, Cruise had a few words in response to Jahan’s op-ed, targeting its title, “Deadmau5 Saved Me From Going Into Porn.”

Carter, who describes herself as a “long time fan of the duo,” respectfully argues that Jahan may not have fully taken into consideration that “in her quest for acceptance, she too fed into a stigma.” Yousaf, she says, used the word “porn” in the title of her op-ed simply for click-bait purposes.

As an adult performer I take issue with the joke itself, because it potentiates some of the most damaging and demeaning stereotypes women in my industry face every day. The problem is that people really do believe that girls would only ever do porn because they failed at something else, or feed a drug addiction, or lack usable skills. Yousef’s comment, published on a major website, feeds into that flawed thinking that a women would only ever have sex on camera as a last resort, and the inability to perform any type of “real” work. 

The actress goes on to put down the misconception that those who choose the adult film industry are “incapable of doing anything else.” Furthermore, she describes the false belief that porn stars take the easy way out, earning large sums of money for minimal, and disrespected work. “Porn is not showing up and having sex; it is work,” she claims.

So Jahan, as a fellow woman, and someone who knows exactly what you are experiencing, I wanted to point out something you may not have considered, simply because you couldn’t possibly without having first hand knowledge of being a sex worker. No matter how hard Iactually work, the fact is, the majority of people look at my job and say, “wow, you’re taking the easy way out, being a whore for money.” This is pretty difficult to listen to when I KNOW how hard I work and how much I care about what I do.

As opposed to responding to Jahan in anger, Carter feels for the sisters because she, too, is a victim of “the same type of hate Yousaf is now experiencing. She does not bash Yousaf, who she refers to as a “beautiful, successful woman,” for making a seemingly ignorant mistake, but rather kindly corrects and informs:

Respectfully, I ask that you consider the possible effects of using porn as a gimmick to garner hits, no matter how valid and important the rest of your points are. Just as it is abhorrent for there to be any assumption that Krewella’s success is predicated on sexuality, or solely dependent on the contributions or guidance of a man, it’s similarly damaging for you to make an off the cuff comment that implies that porn is something from which one would need to be saved.

View Carter Cruise’s response in full here.

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Tags: carter cruise, Krewella, op-ed, response

Categories: Music