(JTA) — Jewish porn star James Deen has been accused of raping his ex-girlfriend and sexually assaulting two other adult film actresses.
On Saturday, Deen’s ex Stoya, a fellow porn star, accused him on Twitter of raping her.
That thing where you log in to the internet for a second and see people idolizing the guy who raped you as a feminist. That thing sucks.
— Stoya (@stoya) November 28, 2015
On Monday, adult film stars Tori Lux and Ashley Fires came forward and accused Deen of assaulting them on film sets on separate occasions. Lux, in a statement on the Daily Beast, wrote that Deen pinned her down and hit her in the face multiple times in June 2011.
“A few people with whom I’ve shared this story over the years have asked me why I didn’t call the police as soon as it happened, or publicly speak up about it shortly thereafter,” Lux wrote. “The reason for that is because people — including the police — tend to believe that sex workers have placed themselves in harm’s way, and therefore can’t be assaulted.”
Fires told the Daily Beast that Deen “almost raped” her in a shower and told her a year later “stop telling people about it.” She said that she has to repeatedly deny offers to work with him.
Deen said on Twitter that the claims against him were “false and defamatory.”
I respect women and I know and respect limits both professionally and privately
— James Deen (@JamesDeen) November 30, 2015
“There have been some egregious claims made against me on social media,” he said. “I want to assure my friends, fans and colleagues that these allegations are both false and defamatory.”
Deen, 29, born Bryan Sevilla, had been called a “feminist hero” and the “boy next door” of the porn industry for his average stature and boyish looks. An often-cited magazine profile describes him as “polite,” “self-deprecating” and someone who “speaks well of everyone,” in contrast to other male porn stars who sport “neck chains,” “unreasonable biceps” and “tribal tattoos.”
In the same article, Deen calls himself someone who cracks Jewish jokes and has an “overanalytical Jewish brain.” He has also elsewhere called himself a feminist.
However, he has a history of joking about rape on Twitter.
Things I’ve learned … It’s not rape if you yell surprise and if you put enough bbq sauce on anything it will taste ok
— James Deen (@JamesDeen) February 19, 2011
It’s not rape if you yell surprise… then it’s a party RT @danadearmond @JamesDeen it’s ok. You’ll be ass raping them in 6 years.
— James Deen (@JamesDeen) April 10, 2012
I’m going to get off this plane and go rape a stuffed animal until it crys!!!!
— James Deen (@JamesDeen) February 28, 2011
Stoya and Deen dated from sometime in 2013 to sometime in 2014.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
