The link between human trafficking and Pornhub made news again this week—this time through the lens of Kanye West.
The topic came up on the recent Joe Rogan Experience podcast, where guest Kanye made some startling observations about how watching Pornhub contributes to the rampant issue of sex trafficking.
Simply stated, Kanye admitted the conflict that arises in casually visiting Pornhub and having to pretend not to see the blatant crimes that are often hosted there. He added that by visiting the site, he was supporting the systems of exploitation and abuse built by companies like MindGeek. Kanye’s comments were refreshingly honest, but also extremely relevant to the ongoing fight to stop the trafficking trade which thrives on Pornhub.
Kanye’s relationship with porn goes back a long time, a fact that he has recently been very vocal about. In the Rogan podcast, and in an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Kanye revealed that his struggle with a porn addiction started when he was just 5 years old, with a Playboy magazine he found in his home.
“For me, Playboy was my gateway into full on pornography addiction. My dad had a Playboy left out at age five and it’s affected almost every choice I made for the rest of my life…. From age five till now, having to kick the habit and it just presents itself in the open like it’s okay and I stand up and say, ‘No, it’s not ok.’” 1
His words boldly articulate the overwhelmingly toxic power of porn on the lives of children. He’s not alone. Studies show that 93% of boys and 62% of girls are exposed to pornography before they reach age 18, with the average age of first exposure being around 11 years old.
Keep in mind that a company like Pornhub, the largest free online porn company in the world, has no reliable age-verification process in place, and doesn’t even ask viewers to acknowledge that they are 18 before entering the site. Pornhub employees have even expressed a company disdain for age-verification systemsbecause it would damage profits. The truth is, there are millions of young boys and girls being exposed to Pornhub’s addictive and damaging content and, to Pornhub, an adolescent is just another customer.
The demand for online porn continues to grow, and its addictiveness is well documented. Multiple studies have linked frequent porn use to not only relationship issues, but also depression, anxiety, substance abuse, mood disorders, concentration issues, memory problems, and more.2
These are issues that Kanye has attested to, labeling his struggle with porn as an addiction that has had a profound impact on the quality of his life. In the interview Kanye said “some people drown themselves in drugs, I drowned myself in my addiction: sex.”3 Kanye talked about his struggles with mental illness, and while he hasn’t himself linked it to porn consumption, research has shown that the adolescent brain is especially susceptible to mental issues stemming from frequent porn use.4
Kanye has an interesting history with Pornhub as well. In an interview in 2018, Jimmy Kimmel asked Kanye if having daughters changed the way he viewed women. Kanye responded “Na’ I still look at Pornhub.”5 Not to let any opportunity go to waste, the interview prompted a ‘thank you’ gesture from Pornhub, publicly offering Kanye a free, lifetime subscription to their premium service.6
It’s ironic that the voice Pornhub once courted is now using his massive influence to expose them.
The relationship only grew when later on that year, Pornhub would hire Kanye to provide creative direction for their inaugural Pornhub Awards show in Los Angeles.7 It’s safe to say that Kanye was fully entrenched in a lifestyle that celebrated porn, and advocated for Pornhub. By his own admission, Kanye detailed how this addiction dominated his life and impacted all of his decisions, from music to family.
Lately however, Kanye has undergone a transformation where his faith has taken center stage in his life. This resurgence has him seeing himself and the porn industry much differently. His personal revelations have led to strong statements against porn consumption, and an expressed urgency to protect his family from its clutches. In a time when many men are silent about their struggles with porn, it’s refreshing to see a celebrity as influential as Kanye being so forthcoming about it.
His observation is the latest in a growing number of public figures who have called attention to the crimes perpetrated by Pornhub. America’s Got Talent host Terry Crews has called for Pornhub to be shut down, while Chris Kattan, Rosanna Arquette, and Mia Khalifa have also shown support for the Traffickinghub movement. Even Jenna Jameson, perhaps the world’s most famous porn star, called the site “monsters” for profiting off rape and torture of women and children.89
Now Kanye is stepping up, as his journey has taken him from being a self-described sex addict and Pornhub consumer poster child, to now disavowing the site and potentially becoming a greater advocate against it. It’s ironic that the voice Pornhub once courted is now using his massive influence to expose them. His voice and experiences with Pornhub are powerful assets in the ongoing fight to bring justice where it’s so desperately needed.
In fact, a growing number of men and women are “breaking up” with porn use and Pornhub, seeing themselves as Kanye now does—contributors to a toxic system that intentionally exploits women and children for profit. This is a trend that not only bodes well for the innocent people being exploited by the site, but for overall public health of men and women in general.
As Kanye and other influential voices use their platform to speak out and help pioneer this movement, greater pressure will be placed on leaders to bring a swift end to Pornhub’s terror spree.
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