Fans were shocked when pop star Billie Eilish spoke out about the harmful effects of pornography, and now at least one porn star is saying it wasn’t society or the porn industry’s fault that the singer was exposed to explicit content as a child. “Boy Meets World” actress Maitland Ward, who left Hollywood to launch an adult film career, is blaming Eilish’s parents.
“Why was she watching violent porn at age 11? Who was watching over her? Like does she have parental figures in her life?” Ward told TMZ during an interview. “She should be blaming her parents. That’s abuse. A child should not be watching porn ever at that age.”
The X-rated star went on to slam Eilish’s comments about the porn industry, saying it’s “entertainment” for adults and not meant to be instructional.
“Porn isn’t something that’s supposed to be sex education for people,” Ward continued. “It’s entertainment for adults and that’s what we do. Also I think [Eilish is] too young to make that kind of assessment about porn, sex, and everything.”
Ward was responding to the comments Eilish made during an appearance on Howard Stern’s radio show. During the conversation, the 20-year-old singer said porn “destroyed” her brain, especially after viewing it at such a young age:
I used to be the person that would talk about porn all the time. I’d be like, ‘Oh, it’s so stupid that anybody would think that porn is bad or f***ed up,’ you know, ‘I think it’s so cool and it’s great and it’s empowering.’ […] I was an advocate and I thought I was ‘one of the guys’ and would talk about it and think I was really cool for not having a problem with it and not seeing why it was bad and… you know. I think it really destroyed my brain and I feel incredibly devastated that I was exposed to so much porn.
She explained how she began seeking out more violent imagery and had trouble sleeping because of it. “I think that I had sleep paralysis and these night terrors slash nightmares because of it,” she said. “I think that’s how it started because I would just watch abusive BDSM and that’s what I thought was attractive.”
She continued:
It got to a point where I couldn’t watch anything else unless it was violent. I didn’t think it was attractive. And I was a virgin, I had never done anything, and it led to problems. The first few times I, you know, had sex, I was not saying no to things that were not good. It’s because I thought that that’s what I was supposed to be attracted to. I’m so angry that porn is so loved, and I’m so angry at myself for thinking that it was okay. The way that vaginas look in porn is f***ing crazy. No vaginas look like that. Women’s bodies don’t look like that. We don’t come like that. […] It’s how so many people think they’re supposed to learn.
Currently, most websites with explicit content have no age verification measures in place. France made headlines recently when they threatened five major porn sites, saying they’d be blocked if they didn’t enforce an age verification process for access.