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Adult Film Star Sasha Grey Reads to 1st Grade Class = Parents Freak
A young woman wanted to give back to the community, to help a school in need and support the public school system. On November 2nd, the attractive actress went to Emerson Elementary School in Compton to participate in the Read Across America program. She had a great time, tweeting, “Spent the am with Read Across America Compton, reading to the sweetest 1st & 3rd grade students @ Emerson Elementary!” Nothing wrong with that, right? Well, some people think there is. Because the woman in question was a porn star …
Sasha Grey — who has starred in films such as House of Ass 7, Sex Toy Teens and Blow Me Sandwich 11 and has won awards for such achievements as Best Three-Way Sex Scene and Number One Porn Star of the Year — has retired from the adult film business. She is making a new name for herself as a legitimate actress in such projects as Entourage. And as part of her new image she is engaging in charitable events such as reading to kids at a Compton school. The parents at the school? They were not too thrilled to find out that an ex-porn star was brought in to spend time with their kids. And the Los Angeles school district isn’t either. Apparently they are tying to cover up the fact that she was ever there.
“We have several celebrities who read to our students each year. The actress you have indicated [Sasha] was not present.” But not only did Sasha Grey tweet that she was there, but there are photos of her reading to the kids!
Sasha takes offense to the objections to her reading to children. She released a statement that said, “I 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.” She went onto say, “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.” She added, “I believe in the future of our children, and I will remain an active supporter and participant in education-focused initiatives.”
Do you think there is anything wrong with letting a porn star — albeit a retired one — spend time reading to kids?
Image: Deftones Video Promo Image
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10 Comments
bettywu commented on Nov 11 11 at 5:13 pmI’m having trouble getting past the fact that there are 11 films in the “Blow Me Sandwich” series. Happy Nigel Tufnel day – so many things that go to 11.
goddess commented on Nov 11 11 at 6:35 pmUm, so let me get this straight- they have CELEBRITIES come in to rad to the kids. I[‘m assuming the kids know, or WANT to know that for which these individuals are famous. What did they tell the kids? Blow jobs on film? Round the world?
If, indeed, the celebrity status is being disseminated in any way, then I agree with the parents.
And, FTR- I enjoy occasional porn.
Brandi commented on Nov 12 11 at 2:07 amIf she had read to middle schoolers who could potentially google her name, then there could be some problems. However, she has retired from “the business” & has had several legimiate acting roles. I see no problems with her reading to first or third graders. After all, we should not be defined by the choices we make when we’re in our late teen/early 20′s.
jenny tries too hard commented on Nov 12 11 at 9:34 amI think it’s kind of silly to have celebrities who are only famous for things the kids shouldn’t watch (even her “mainstream” acting and modeling is not for kids) participate in this sort of a program, one that’s meant to show little kids that people they look up to enjoy reading and want them to read. If this weren’t a celebrity-reading-week thing but just Grey doing a reading/education volunteer commitment—like, if she regularly led a story time at a library or regularly volunteered in some other way without using her screen name—it wouldn’t be an issue. Here, the whole point is that it’s well-known people reading to kids, so they should be well-known for something that you can talk about with six-year-olds.
Richan commented on Nov 12 11 at 10:43 amShe’s a porn star not a pedophile.
Jenny commented on Nov 12 11 at 11:15 am“I have a past that some people may not agree with, but it does not define who I am.” -Sasha Grey
“After all, we should not be defined by the choices we make when we’re in our late teen/early 20′s.” -Brandi
What?!!! Of course these are the things that define us! The choices we make and the actions we take are precisely what one should use to judge a person. Come on people! Demand accountability from each other or we become a society with no integrity. If you can’t handle being defined by a choice you make, then choose something else.
kiki commented on Nov 12 11 at 2:55 pmI don’t see what the big deal is. She chose a career that made her a lot of money, and then she moved on to another career that happened to involve less nudity. It’s not like she showed up to read to elementary school kids naked, or in lingerie, and I dought she was discussing ass play with the kids. Had the parents not made such a fuss, it’s likely that the kids would never have known she’s anything more than she is right now – an actress. If she wants to read to kids, encourage reading programs in schools, and donate her time to the effort, I applaud her – that’s more than most people do. I think that shows a great deal of integrity on her part – especially knowing how closed-minded people can be.
CW commented on Nov 13 11 at 1:51 pmUnless she has publicly repented of her past career, then no, I don’t think it is appropriate. I’m all for forgiving people of their past mistakes but “retiring” from an immoral occupation isn’t enough- there needs to be acknowledgment that it was wrong of her to have engaged in that kind of behavior.
Lynn commented on Nov 15 11 at 6:31 pmShe did have a legitimate acting role in Entourage, and I’m going to guess that her past porn employment would only end up common knowledge with the kids because parents/other adults/older kids made a great big fuss about it, possibly even prompting them to go online and do a search on her name.
She made a poor choice with the decision to do porn, but now that she’s attempting to do something more positive with her life/heading in a different direction – it would be one thing if she were still a working porn actress, that would be when it’d be appropriate to criticize her/condemn her. A bad decision may not go away, but we should all be allowed to move on from it.
puasamanda commented on Nov 15 11 at 10:54 pm@CW – She doesn’t have any reason to apologize. Nor did she make a “past mistake.” Furthermore, her occupation is only “immoral” to some, and it is YOUR opinion that it was “wrong of her to engage in that kind of behavior.” Last I checked, being a porn actress was a legal profession, and morals surrounding sex and sexuality are (quite rightly) on a broad spectrum across society when what is happening is between consenting adults.
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