XHamster just delivered a serious money shot on the North Carolina legislature.
Users from the Tar Hell State began complaining on Monday that when they tried to access the popular porn site on Monday, they were met with a blank screen.
XHamster spokesman Mike Kulich says that this is no accident, but rather a direct response to the state’s passage of what is seen as an anti-LGBT law.
“We have spent the last 50 years fighting for equality for everyone and these laws are discriminatory which XHamster.com does not tolerate,” Kulich told The Huffington Post. “Judging by the stats of what you North Carolinians watch, we feel this punishment is a severe one. We will not standby and pump revenue into a system that promotes this type of garbage. We respect all sexualities and embrace them.”
Kulich continued: “Back in March, we had 400,000 hits for the term ‘Transsexual’ from North Carolina alone. People from that state searched ‘Gay’ 319,907 times.”
HB2, the legislation signed into law by Gov. Pat McCrory last month, has been widely criticized as discriminatory and anti-gay. The new law prohibits employers and businesses from discriminating based on race, color, religion, age and “biological sex,” though its wording allows for discrimination based on sexual orientation.
The law overturned an ordinance that would have gone into effect in Charlotte next month, barring discriminatory practices and giving transgender people the right to use public restrooms corresponding to their sexual identity.
On Friday, Bruce Springsteen announced that he was canceling a performance in Greensboro, North Carolina due to his reservations about the law. Bryan Adams soon followed suit, and Hulu pulled production of its pilot “Crushed” from North Carolina in the wake of the legislation.