LOS ANGELES – Axel Braun no longer will employ performers younger than 21 in his adult entertainment products.
The announcement, made Friday on the award-winning producer-director’s Facebook page, indicated Braun reached the decision after suffering a crisis of conscience.
“As of today [Oct. 4, 2013], I am raising the minimum age requirement for adult performers who wish to appear in sexually explicit roles in any of my movies to 21,” Braun’s note to fans and followers stated. “After over two decades in the [adult entertainment] business, I have come to strongly believe that an 18-year-old fresh out of high school has a completely different perspective on life than he or she will have three years later, and I just want to allow them enough time to make a more informed, mature decision.
“This may not be a popular choice, but it is a personal one, and it is what my conscience tells me to do,” the statement continued. “I simply don’t feel comfortable anymore shooting talent under 21, so I won’t.”
Braun said the policy would be enforced not only for productions released by Axel Braun Productions, but also for movies he shoots for other studios.
As things were looking by Monday afternoon, Braun may have misjudged the response. Of the post’s 128 “likes,” 13 shares and 37 comments from a worldwide audience, only one was negative.
“I commend you for doing this. Bravo!” former Wicked Pictures publicist Hethalein Mares wrote. “It’s something I have been saying for yeeeaarrrsss.”
MAIA Toys Director of Sales and Marketing and Free Speech Coalition board member Mara Epstein called Braun’s edict a “smart move.”
“Social and corporate responsibility such as this is surely the way forward,” wrote Vince Charlton, director of European outreach for Association of Sites Advocting Child Protection. “Congratulations on a bold move.”
Vorm Namen, a commenter from Germany, wrote, “Axel, this is a very good and wise decision you just made. At 21 you are surely more mature than [at] 18, to really know what you are going to do with your life or your next years. This shows also responsibility. After all, it’s easier for a younger one to say he’s 18 than 21, even without ID. Who knows? Maybe other directors will follow your example, as well.”
The lone naysayer, Nathan Nott, wanted to know why porn stars should be held to a different age standard than military personnel and professional sports players.
“While admire your [conscience] and conviction, I have to say I do not agree,” Nott wrote. “Firstly, we allow 18-year-olds to vote and go to war; the results of a person’s choices in these cases impact not only the individual, but many third parties and also society as whole. If we allow 18-year-olds to make decisions that significantly impact others, then we have to assume they are capable of making the correct decision for themselves. Secondly, an industry that exploits young people much more than the adult industry is professional sports. In your opinion, should LeBron James have waited until he was 21 before entering the NBA?”
