'It's Gonna Be Softcore': Porn Director Jimmy Lifestyles Accused of On-Set Sexual Assault

By Tracy Clark-Flory  |  March 14, 2019 | 3:15pm
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On Sunday, porn performer Emma Hix wrote on Twitter, “A director stuck his tongue up my ass today and I confronted him and he laughed in my face and said ‘I’m over reacting.’” In a tear-filled video that followed, she alleged that the director, Jimmy Lifestyles, had told her that the scene in which he would be briefly appearing would be only simulated. “He said I’m gonna pretend to eat you guys out and all this stuff,” said Hix of the conversation that allegedly took place before filming began. “He said clearly, ‘It’s gonna be softcore.”

Lifestyles repeatedly denied the allegations on Twitter, but Hix’s co-star, Emma Starletto, corroborated her account. Several other performers weighed in with their own allegations against Lifestyles, as well as messages of support. Within a couple days, Lifestyles posted an emotional apology video in which he said, “It was a bad, bad choice. A mistake, indeed.” Lifestyles, who did not respond to Jezebel’s request for comment, alleged that he’ll no longer be performing on camera.

A change is coming.

This story, which has played out on Twitter over the course of just four days, is something of a counterpoint to the outcome of other recent allegations of abuse within the adult industry. It’s also led many to call for a formal system for reporting allegations of on-set abuse. On Twitter, director Jacky St. James solicited stories of abuse within the industry and said, “Your courage & bravery inspires & will be the change that is imminent,” she wrote. “A change is coming.”

In March of last year, director Just Dave and performer Rico Strong were accused of on-set boundary violations by Leigh Raven and Riley Nixon during separate shoots for the porn site Black Payback. As Jezebel previously reported, Black Payback, a site built on the premise of black men exacting sexual revenge for racism on white women, posted footage from one of the shoots in question alongside mocking commentary about the accusations. Then, late last year, director Stills by Alan was accused by performer Lily Adams of sexual assault offset. In the aforementioned cases, all those accused have denied the allegations.

Earlier this year, allegations surfaced that porn performer August Ames, who died by suicide in December of 2017, was abused a few weeks before her death during a shoot with performer Markus Dupree. Part of the alleged evidence was a series of text messages purported to be sent from Ames to Hix, who was a close friend. (At the time, Dupree did not respond to Jezebel’s request for comment.)

In many cases of sexual abuse allegations within the industry, accusers have suffered greater career consequences than the accused. Just recently, James Deen, who in 2015 was accused of abuse by several women, was welcomed back by Evil Angel after a three-year ban, and in a film titled, Consent. (Deen denied the allegations.) The timeline of events around the allegations against Lifestyles stands in contrast to these cases.

“Yeah I really don’t wanna do the scene now. But oh well.”

Shortly after her initial tweet, Hix posted a cellphone video recorded on set as she and Lifestyles argued about the alleged incident. “Oh my god! I didn’t stick my tongue up your ass,” says Lifestyles in the recording. He is then heard saying of Hix’s co-star, Starletto, “Yes, I licked her a little more than you.” He adds, “I’m sorry, I was in the mode.” The scene in question featured Hix and Starletto wearing lingerie alongside Lifestyles, who was dressed as “a creepy [sic] lepracaun,” as he put it on Twitter. It was all a setup for the hardcore portion of the shoot featuring a male performer who was not Lifestyles.

Hix followed up with a screenshot of an alleged Twitter direct message conversation with Starletto that appears to have taken place during the the shoot. Hix wrote that Lifestyles “licked my vagina when doing the ‘soft core’ part” and asked if the same had happened to her. “Yes he did I didn’t think he should’ve or was supposed to,” Starletto wrote in response. “Yeah I really don’t wanna do the scene now,” wrote Hix. “But oh well.”

Hix then tweeted a cellphone video recorded on set as she and Lifestyles argued about the alleged incident. “Oh my god! I didn’t stick my tongue up your ass,” he says in the recording. Lifestyles is then heard saying, “Yes, I licked her a little more than you” and “I’m sorry, I was in the mode.”

Soon, Lifestyles tweeted a defense. “Hello everyone, Did Emma make it clear that I was IN THE SCENE as a creepy lepracaun and everything was talked about before hand(consent) and that it’s on tape for all to see?and that she pushes her ass onto my face just like the other girl in the scene? DOes she??” In a series of tweets, he disputed her understanding that it would be a softcore scene without sexual contact and defended himself against the on-set recording. He wrote, “‘lick n a slap’ was what I said was going to happen.I gave hers more licks than you. I didn’t touch yours with my tongue at all,THUS she got more licks!”

Lifestyles then wrote, “Seriously people, have we not learned ANYTHING about popping off on TWITTER and condemning one side without hearing the full story? When is this gonna stop.remember Just Dave? Remember Stills by Alan? U were wrong about them too.”

Seriously people, have we not learned ANYTHING about popping off on TWITTER and condemning one side without hearing the full story?

He posted a clip of the scene which shows Lifestyles wearing a green vest with a shamrock print while standing on his knees on top of a pair of shoes. (We are not linking to the scene, as it depicts an alleged sexual assault.) Hix and Starletto stand in front of him and place their butts in front of his face. It’s possible to see Lifestyles lean toward Starletto’s butt and say that he’s going to pull her lingerie aside. He then slaps Starletto’s butt and turns to Hix and seems to pull her toward his face. She shakes her butt a bit and then shortly thereafter moves away from him. It isn’t possible to see exactly what Lifestyles’s face or mouth is doing, as both women are facing toward the camera and blocking the view.

Soon, Starletto weighed in. “I’d like to say that @EMMAHIXOFFICIAL and I are PERFORMERS,” she wrote. “We will ALWAYS TRY and make a scene look phenomenal but this was NOT ASKED OR DISCUSSED BEFOREHAND.” She added, “NONE of the agents were advised. Nor was it stated on call sheet. Therefore showing it was randomly placed on us.”

Several other performers began tweeting about their own alleged experiences with Lifestyles. Longtime performer Adriana Chechik wrote, “I stand with @EMMAHIXOFFICIAL not only did I witness a female talent cry due to disrespect and 10+ hours of being on a draining shoot I also was hurt and had to cancel a day after he made me feel forced to use a makeshift toy that tore me.” Aidra Fox weighed in: “jimmy is one of three directors on my no list for reasons exactly like this.” Performer Ivy Wolfe wrote in response to Hix, “He has done similar to me, and many other girls. Thank you.” Vanna Bardot tweeted: “Im so sorry this happened to you, I recently shot with jimmy as well and thought it was by far one of the most unprofessional sets I’ve been on.”

At least a dozen performers have made allegations related to conditions on Jimmy Lifestyles sets, according to the adult industry publication XBIZ, which was first to report the story. Lifestyles has explicitly denied some of these allegations.

On Tuesday, Lifestyles, who had previously argued online about the allegations, posted his emotional apology video. “This situation, of course, is wearing on me,” he started out. “It’s unbelievable. It’s very sobering, humbling, if you will, to know that one moment in your whole career can just spiral out of control.” He continued, “It was a bad, bad choice. A mistake, indeed. I didn’t have any malicious intent,” said Lifestyles, although he did not specifically address the allegation of nonconsensual anilingus, which he had previously denied. “I didn’t want to make things uncomfortable. I wasn’t trying to be sneaky.” He added, “In my mind, I communicated to you that the scene was going to go the way it did. Apparently, and obviously, I didn’t and that is on me.” Lifestyles alleged that going forward he’s going to “clean up the way I approach things.”

Toward the end of the video he added, “I’m gonna retire myself from being any sort of talent in the scenes.”

Lifestyles has since said he will make individual videos for every performer who “I feel needs a response.” Today, he posted a response to Chechik’s allegation of feeling pressured to use a “makeshift toy that tore” her, and gave a resistant apology. “I remember you being part of the process,” he said. “I don’t just maliciously throw something down and say, ‘Go for it.’ We were creating it in front of you and you were saying, ‘I think I can do that.’” He added, “If it fucked you up, yeah, I’m sorry, you should have said something. … Please stop using words like ‘forced’ and piling on.”

As these allegations, and back and forths, have visibly unfolded online, it has inspired calls for change within the industry, and to a degree that other recent accusations have not. Some, like Chechik, began using the hashtag #porndeservesprofessionalism. Longtime director Mike Quasar tweeted that “agents should be red flagging these motherfuckers instead of sending 18,19 20 year old girls into an ambush. Shit needs to get fixed now.”

Some, like Jacky St. James, have suggested ways to work toward a fix. Earlier this week, performer Kristen Scott tweeted a poll that said, “There is a mainstream forum where models post about experiences with photographers, directors, crew members so that other models can be warned about unprofessional behaviors to avoid them. Would you find it useful if our industry had our own?” Of the nearly 1,000 respondents, 90 percent said, “Yes please!”

 
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