In 2020, The New York Times published an opinion piece that included the stories of multiple women who, as minors, were exploited by having their sexual assaults posted to Pornhub, one of the most popular adult-content sites on the planet. The article went viral. Since then, the company has faced lawsuits from assault victims and from activists who allege the site engages in child sex trafficking. But for sex workers, Pornhub has provided a sustainable way to make a living — a livelihood that’s being threatened by what they contend is blanket censorship. Money Shot: The Pornhub Story, from Totally Under Control director Suzanne Hillinger, explores the history of the explicit-video platform and delves into the moral contradictions involved in user-uploaded pornography.
Click here for a complete timeline of events detailed in the documentary, from the early days when Pornhub disrupted the adult industry’s business model, to the current, fundamentally changing landscape of pornography distribution and production, as well as the people impacted by all of it.
Money Shot: The Pornhub Story is available to stream on Netflix now.
Porn performer Cherie DeVille is featured in the documentary.
Check it out here:
Along with Pornhub corporate employees and journalists, performers like Wolf Hudson, Siri Dahl, Natassia Dreams, Cherie DeVille, Asa Akira and Gwen Adora discuss the rise of the site and its major controversies.
Pornhub quickly found success disrupting the adult industry’s business model, fundamentally changing pornography distribution and production. But when ensuring an unending stream of content became a companywide imperative, Pornhub began receiving increased scrutiny: The National Center on Sexual Exploitation made accusations of sex trafficking, while victims of sex abuse and revenge porn were met with little to no justice when the site failed to take down videos of their assaults. But the company’s attempt to quell the backlash — and a censorious congressional act that has since made companies more liable for their content — impacted the livelihoods of some of Pornhub’s most prominent sex workers and porn performers. Money Shot: The Pornhub Story interviews industry experts and Pornhub employees about the company’s rise to fame and the controversies that resulted in a public outcry for the site to be shut down.
While its performers are all over the globe, Pornhub is owned by MindGeek and is run out of its Montreal offices.
