Stoya Elaborates via Blog on Deen Accusation

LOS ANGELES—After remaining mostly mum—save for a cursory interview with The Guardian—since her pair of tweets November 28 that hurled fellow adult star James Deen into a maelstrom of sexual assault allegations and industry blacklisting, Stoya on Thursday took to her blog, GraphicDepictions.com, to open up in far greater detail about her decision to post those tweets. Noting that the new blog entry fell on the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers, Stoya wrote, "We who work in adult entertainment navigate a legal landscape that can be uncertain. ... We work in a culture that can be outright hostile, as when War Machine's lawyer questioned whether Christy Mack can be raped because of her former career in pornography or when NYC police used carried condoms as evidence of prostitution, which it did until mid-2014. ... Unlike many other industries, we who work in pornography experience the effects of moral hysteria and anti-sex work propagandists. Therefore, we who work in porn must consider these points before publicily airing any of pornography's dirty laundry, whether its structural flaws, its ethical shortcomings, or its personal violations." She continued, "I lived with the knowledge that James had violated my consent for a long time before coming forward. I felt as if I had no recourse. I didn't know what to do. So I kept working with him, and we kept dating. I swallowed a lot of Xanax and washed it down with unsettlingly large amounts of alcohol. After we split, I started seeing a therapist who is well versed in the specific complexities of sex workers and people who practice BDSM. They helped. "However, I wrestled with guilt. I felt complicit in any future harm he might inflict because I'd spoken so highly of him [while dating him] but I'd neglected to complete the public record. It ate away at me." Addressing the question posed by many across all manner of forums as to why she chose social media to register her charge as opposed to a more formal route, Stoya explained, "I didn't feel I could file a report with the Adult Performer Advocacy Committee, APAC. James had been on its board since it was founded. [Ed. note: Deen voluntarily stepped down as APAC's chairman immediately following Stoya's accusation against him.] Similarly, I didn't feel as if I could press charges because the U.S. court system rarely metes out anything that looks like justice when sex workers are involved. Social media seemed to be the most appropriate and only real option. But I doubted I would be believed, and I worried the company I co-own with Kayden Kross [Trenchcoatx.com] would suffer. Most of all, I was afraid that speaking would only serve to fuel the arguments of outside groups who aim to dictate how we adult performers do our jobs and whether we're legally allowed to do them at all." She went on to say that she was pleasantly taken aback by the response her course of action generated. "Instead of being silenced, instead of being not heard, something very different occured," Stoya wrote. "When I finally spoke in those two tweets on the 28th of November, people listened. Other women began to come forward, and a lot of people in pornography showed their support. Significant companies responded, and they did so swiftly. I'm grateful for the solidarity of the people who believe me and the other women who have spoken out, and I'm proud of the industry I work in." James Deen has steadfastly maintained his innocence of Stoya's accusal and those of several other women against him. Read Stoya's entire blog entry here.