Wednesday, Oct 10, 2012    Text size: 

LOS ANGELES — The adult entertainment industry overwhelmingly favors re-electing Barack Obama to a second term as president, according to the results of a new industry poll conducted by media organization XBIZ.

In spite of being in an era of declining industry revenues due to the glut of free content available online and rampant piracy, the majority of adult insiders side with the Democratic incumbent Obama over the Republican candidate Mitt Romney as the 2012 presidential election on Nov. 6 inches closer. The results are based on responses from members of XBIZ.net, the adult entertainment industry’s top social network.

XBIZ asked industry members: “Which candidate would you like elected U.S. president?”

Of the 339 respondents, 68% say Obama, while only 13% favor Romney. Another 14% would like to see “someone else” in the White House, while 5% responded “I don’t care.”

The results of the poll did not come as a shock to at least two prominent industry kingpins.

Hustler founder Larry Flynt in September took out full-page ads in the Washington Post and USA Today offering $1 million in cash for proof of Romney’s tax returns and/or details of his offshore assets, bank accounts and business partnerships. Romney in late September did release his 2011 tax return and a brief summary of his returns from the previous 20 years. Flynt told XBIZ simply that he was “not surprised” by Obama’s favorite status in the industry.

Vivid Entertainment CEO Steven Hirsch agreed.

"The results aren't really surprising because most people involved with the adult industry have a liberal view of government and how it should work,” Hirsch said. “Social issues are more important than fiscal issues and they will support a candidate who shares their beliefs."

Evil Angel founder John Stagliano, who overcame a federal obscenity prosecution that generated nationwide attention in 2010, pointed to his support of another presidential hopeful.

“The only candidate who protects our right to do business is the Libertarian Party candidate, Gary Johnson,” Stagliano told XBIZ, referring to the former governor of New Mexico who has garnered the most support of any of the third-party candidates heading into this election. “He was the only person dealing with the real problems we have, like war, the debt, censorship and inefficient government.”

Aside from economic considerations affecting voters’ decisions in November, the issue of federal obscenity prosecutions figures to be a major factor for adult film producers. According to the notorious pro-censorship organization Morality in Media, Mitt Romney earlier this year, along with other Republican candidates at the time, offered assurances that if elected, they would direct the U.S. Department of Justice to prosecute porn producers for obscenity violations.

Whatever the outcome of the election, the industry will do what it has for the past 40 years — adapt and survive — and meet the consumer demand for adult entertainment regardless of the weight of political pressure.