LOS ANGELES — Echoing adult star Aurora Snow’s sentiments that racism still exists in porn in her recent DailyBeast column, performer and director Lexington Steele said in an interview that the industry is alone in practicing racial exclusion.
Steele told The Root that racist practices definitely exist and he feels it’s built within the fabric of the industry because those in authority over white female performers are implementing this practice of no interracial. “It’s their managers, boyfriend or husband or family members,” Steele said.
The star added, “It’s just an element of American culture that still exists, and that is the feeling that a white female will be deflowered or soiled, if you will, by doing a scene with a black male. But that does speak to the continued existence of bigotry and racism, and I don’t think porno is unaffected by certain elements of American culture. And quite honestly, adult media is the only major business that allows for the practice of exclusion based upon race.”
Steele, who has directed more than 100 films in his career, recently signed on as an Evil Angel director and is set to release his first film for the company on April 10.
When asked to comment on the interview, Steele told XBIZ, “In no way was this an interview to attack the industry. It would be irresponsible for me to misrepresent or understate certain realities. My interests do not lie in turning this into a platform for social discussion. My interests are on the economics of my position in the business. While I stand by my comments, I am constantly asked the same question regarding whether there are disparities between the races. To shy away from that inquiry would be a disservice to ethnic performers who have had to deal with many tangible disparities. Regardless of whether I have suffered such in my career. There was nothing untrue spoken in my interview regarding elements of American culture that manifest in the adult media industry. When posed with questions regarding the practice of policies along racial lines, I do not shy away from the discussion.
“While I have been the beneficiary of the popularity of interracial productions as a genre, that does not replace my understanding of the industry as I have known and experienced for the last 15 years. Perhaps, given my tenure in the business, it is my responsibility to speak for those who have no voice and/or platform to discuss realities that are considered one of the industry's best-kept secrets.
“Finally, it has never been my intention to judge, nor have I ever judged those who choose not to work with me for whatever their personal reasons may be. I maintain the utmost respect for an individual’s personal decisions and have no interest in how they arrive at them.”
