UPDATE: August 28, 2019 11:40 a.m. (PDT): Earlier today, Lust issued a follow up response announcing the decision to remove "Architecture Porn" from circulation. As of tomorrow, the title will no longer be available for purchase on Lust's network of sites.
BARCELONA — After allegations of "unethical behavior" on Olympe de G. shoots for Erika Lust Films were again disseminated online by performer Hello Rooster against Erika Lust, the Barcelona-based studio head today issued a formal statement addressing the incidents.
In a December 2018 post, which was attached to a fundraising effort, Rooster outlined their allegations against Olympe de G., which include "sexual assault, gross negligence of an employer and breach of contract." Rooster said that despite attempts at private remediation, Lust and co-founder Pablo Dobner had decided to "align themselves and publicly support my abuser" and "erase my experience."
Rooster details additional claims in another December 2018 post titled, "Erika Lust — A Timeline of Unethical Practices."
In today's response, Lust addressed Rooster's previous accusations, stating that she believes Rooster's claims do not amount to "sexual abuse or assault."
"Rooster’s main issue was that the director had not given them enough time to prepare for a masturbation scene on the 'Don’t Call Me A Dick' set," wrote Lust. "The director, Olympe, responded to this, saying that Rooster had already spent all morning preparing. They had already rescheduled Rooster’s scene from first thing in the morning to later that day, as Rooster was not feeling 100 percent well in the morning."
"It can be argued that this incident was not a good example of best directing practice in the production of a film set. But it is certainly not sexual abuse nor assault."
When the incident was brought to her attention, Lust said she spoke with all 12 crew members present that day on the set of "Don't Call Me A Dick" and subsequently concluded that "sexual assault didn’t happen on that set."
"On the other hand," she noted, "we took a look at how director Olympe de G. was handling sets and we didn’t agree with her working style so we took the decision not to hire her as a director for XConfessions again."
In the spring of 2018, Lust began work on a Performer Bill of Rights and a Guidelines for Guest Directors checklist, both of which were penned with input from Rooster, and other performers.
However, Lust explained, in July 2018, "the nature of Rooster’s claim changed from boundary violations and bad working practices to unethical behaviour and abuse of power. In September 2018, despite our apology and attempts at a dialogue, Rooster began claiming to have been sexually assaulted."
In a Jezebel article about the initial Rooster allegations a year ago, journalist Tracy Clark-Flory noted that "after many months of conversation and negotiation with Lust Films around how to address the issue, Rooster published a full accounting of their accusations to Medium, in a post titled, 'Erika Lust has a serious #MeToo Problem.' The post — which has since been removed by Medium — detailed several other allegations, including that Olympe used her power as a director to coerce them into a sexual relationship."
Olympe de G. confirmed a sexual relationship with Rooster but has claimed that it was consensual and "outside of any professional context."
Following the sexual assault claims, Olympe de G. asserted that she would file defamation and harassment claims against Rooster — legal threats which Rooster has alluded to on their website in connection to their case against Erika Lust.
Lust today confirmed that Rooster's lawyers contacted her in February of 2019 regarding "an out-of-court settlement in the form of an apology and to obtain a witness statement against Olympe," in addition to the request of "a large economic settlement."
Lust says she declined to accept the proposal.
As to the second Olympe de G. set incident which has been discussed in social media during the past few days, Lust wrote she was still trying to figure out what went on. "Recently, my team made me aware of a new accusation that Rooster did not previously email me about," Lust explained. "The accusation I am talking about is one of rape by Olympe de G., on the set of 'Architecture Porn,' under the watch of myself and over 20 crew members. Regarding this new accusation of rape on my set 'Architecture Porn,' this is a claim that has never been brought to my company’s attention before."
She concluded to say that she will collect accounts of the alleged abuse from everyone present on the set of "Architecture Porn" to further assess Rooster's claim.
Rooster, also a sex educator and panelist on consent and ethics in porn, has insisted that they find Lust's behavior particularly "disappointing" considering her position as a "feminist" and "ethical" adult filmmaker.
It is unclear whether legal action has been taken against Olympe de G., Erika Lust or Erika Lust films, although Rooster has persisted with crowdfunding efforts, of which they hope to raise a total of £50,000 to file proceedings against "the company CEOs for breach of contract and gross negligence of an employer," and additional expenses incurred.
Both "Don't Call Me A Dick" and "Architecture Porn" are still available for purchase via Lust's XConfessions website.
