WITH the chance to make thousands per video the porn industry seems an enticing career prospect for some – but it has a dark and deadly underbelly.
The recent death of porn star, Thaina Fields, serves as a stark reminder that the industry has a seedy underworld teeming with tragic stories of exploitation and suicide.
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Sites like OnlyFans have been taking people from rags to riches in recent years with many stars saying they find stripping down “empowering,” but for Thaina this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Shortly before her death the 24-year-old revealed she had suffered “very strong” sexual abuse when she started her career in porn.
She said at the time: “I have suffered sexual harassment and abuse after starting to create adult content. It’s very strong.
“Many thought that by hiring me they could do what they wanted with me, but then I came home, took a bath and cried.
“He told me that I had to be strong and I let it go. It happened to me many times.
“It is very difficult to be a woman and create adult content when society is literally in s**t.”
The body of the adult actress was discovered at her home in Trujillo, Peru on January 6.
Thaina was famous for her roles in erotic movies made by production company Milky Peru and she isn’t the only star with a similar tragic tale.
British adult actress Sophie Anderson died just months ago in December 2023 aged 36.
Her death came just two weeks after her boyfriend – former Crystal Palace footballer Oliver Spedding – also died aged 34.
The cause of death for the pair has not been confirmed.
The mum-of-four had also previously revealed that she endured sexual abuse while she worked at a massage parlour aged just 14.
Before they died it seemed the couple’s relationship had taken a turn for the worst as Oliver made a strange post on social media which he promptly deleted.
The post – made in September 2023 – claimed Sophie had died from an overdose, leading worried friends to contact the police, who found out the star was actually “ok”.
“I feel it everywhere, nothing scares me anymore.”
Olivia Lua
Another actress to fall victim to the dark side of the world of porn was transgender porn star Angelina Please who died of an accidental overdose of cocaine, a coroner ruled.
Angela, whose real name was Francesca Montalbano, was discovered dead in her Las Vegas apartment in 2022 after her concerned family hadn’t been able to make contact and called police.
She performed in various X-rated titles during her career, with her work earning her a nomination for the Trans Performer of the Year at the 2022 AVN Awards. She also had a popular OnlyFans account.
Her mum, Stephanie, told The Sun she had been taking drugs and the family feared she had consumed “a bad batch”.
Stephanie said: “She was doing ketamine. But they put fentanyl in everything nowadays, just a line is enough to kill you.
“She’d been clean from meth for over a year but she was still dabbling in party drugs.
“I could tell her until I was blue in the face not to do it, and why you shouldn’t do it, but she would just hide it from me and I didn’t want her to do that.”
Dahila Sky was another porn star whose life was cut short far too soon.
The 31-year-old was discovered with a fatal gunshot to her head in 2021 after battling terminal cancer and depression.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office later ruled that it was suicide.
Dahila, who was just weeks away from celebrating her 32nd birthday, had been diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer.
She was also said to have been homeless and living in her car.
The young woman was part of the adult entertainment world for a decade and had around 600 credits to her name, with some of her performances earning her industry awards and nominations.
And fellow star Olivia Lua was also taken far too soon after an apparent battle with addiction to prescription drugs.
She had reportedly suffered a relapse a week before her tragic death and her family had warned of her battle with prescription pill abuse.
In a final Instagram post, the troubled star – also known as Olivia Voltaire – also hinted at her hopelessness.
The young actress, who was born in Philadelphia, shared a photo of herself the day before her death. The caption read: “I feel it everywhere, nothing scares me anymore.”
A statement by her agency, LA Direct Models, said Olivia had been facing some “personal challenges” and had been in and out of residential rehab for almost three months.
It read: “Much comment has recently been made on the number of adult stars having passed in the last year and with great sadness we must inform you that the list has grown longer.
“Olivia had not been available for work since early October of last year… She had been out for about a month, hoping to make a return to work in the early part of this year.
“Family and close friends said they had deep concern at the volume of prescription drugs prescribed to Olivia and the danger this posed to her.
“If this was mixed with recreational drugs or alcohol, it is believed this to be the cause of her passing.”
Despite the recent spate of deaths, the notion that the sex industry and its dark underworld can claim lives is far from new.
Tragically, in 2015 Gay porn star, Zac Stevens, died in an apparent suicide according to Edge Media Network.
In his Twitter bio, he said he enjoyed hiking, travelling, yoga and skydiving.
And, when adult film performer, Dimitri Kane, was found to have died from suicide in 2014, commenters on the blog Queerty were quick to blame the industry.
One wrote: “Well… sex work is a dead-end job figuratively and literally.”
Another said: “I’ve often wondered how people could have sex with complete strangers with no attraction for money. I can’t imagine what that does to the soul.”
Mia Khalifa, arguably one of the world’s most famous porn stars, slammed the industry when she posted a Tweet labelling it “predatory” in 2021.
The model delivered her message by sarcastically tweeting: “I don’t boycott the predatory porn industry and support creators directly instead” – followed by a series of red flag emojis.
She has also previously described the period she worked in the industry as the “worst time” of her life.
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