LOS ANGELES — Read her lips. Sasha Grey will not stop her work in educational programs.
The former porn star caused a mainstream media frenzy last weekend after news broke that she was reading to grade school children in a Compton, Los Angeles classroom as part of the Read Across American national elementary school volunteer program.
News of the former porn star’s action that originally broke on TMZ, appeared in the Los Angeles Times, CBS News, KTLA News, US Weekly, the Chicago Sun-Times, YouTube and more.
And despite outrage from school parents, Grey’s gesture was seen more as a socially responsible act than a ploy to grab publicity.
In fact, some reports blasted school officials for either being oblivious to having a porn star involved with young children and their flat out denial that she ever was in the classroom despite photos to the contrary.
What started as negative buzz and another lame attempt at blaming porn for society's ills, actually moved the needle of adult mainstream acceptance just a bit more into the positive because of Grey's commitment to kids.
Grey said in a TMZ statement, "I'm committed to this program with the understanding that people would have their own opinions about what I have done, who I am and what I represent. I am an actor. I am an artist. I am a daughter. I am a sister. I am a partner. I have a past that some people may not agree with, but it does not define who I am."
In fact, although the Chicago Sun-Times reported the new exposure may be part of her plan to make it big in Hollywood, citing her current involvement with Oscar winner Adrien Brody, it quoted a big studio exec as saying, “Considering it was a sex tape that put both Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton on the map — this could work too. The world has changed.”
Grey further said, "I believe in the future of our children, and I will remain an active supporter and participant in education-focused initiatives."
So impressed was he with her civic-minded move, and no doubt seeing the upside for adult, Vivid co-founder Steven Hirsch fired off a letter to the school's principal, Ms. Sydney Ritchey-Burnett lauding her for having the courage to invite Grey, along with volunteering Vivid stars Chyna and Allie Haze to do the same.
