A since debunked report suggested that the average life expectancy of a porn star was just 37 years.
While the anti-porn crusaders missed the mark with that factoid, the truth is women and men in the industry do die young at an alarming rate.
Following the death of violent porn entrepreneur Max Hardcore (Paul Little) in 2023, activist Helen Taylor, of Exodus Cry, noted the mortality rate for porn stars is sky-high. Suicide is prevalent.
“Former porn star Joshua Brown told us that the majority of his friends in the business are no longer alive, most dead from drug overdoses,” Taylor said. “It’s cause and effect, most need life-long therapy.”
Many of the young women who enter the business with stars in their eyes soon discover the industry is rife with abuse. Many are already sex assault victims or have been abused in their childhoods.
The latest victim two weeks ago was Kagney Linn Karter, 36, who had retired from the business and moved to Ohio to open up a pole dancing studio. She had struggled with mental health issues like many of her co-stars.
By the time she retired, the star of All About Kagney Linn Karter, Bad Girls 4, Diary of a Nanny 6, and 900 other videos had found she could never escape the sordid events in the San Fernando Valley.