(Update: Adds updated comment from Cal/OSHA.)
Porn actress Nikki Benz said in a series of tweets that she was assaulted by a porn director who assaulted and choked her with the camera rolling, despite her protests.
“Did you see the part where I said cut, where I said I’m not OK with this? … I said no,” she tweeted, calling out porn company Brazzers for using the director, known as Tony T. “I guess rape scenes are in now, huh?”
Attempts to locate Tony T were unsuccessful, in part because more than one performer-director goes by the name Tony T.
“The director himself put his hands on me and was choking me,” Benz said in another tweet. “Never in a million years did I think Brazzers would allow it.”
In another tweet, she shared a text message that said her head had been “stomped on.” It was unclear when that occurred or who was responsible.
Benz told her story in a series of tweets that started Monday. She received a wellspring of support from fans and other performers, including retired porn star Jenna Jameson, who wrote: “You are a strong woman, and just know you have all of us behind you, willing to fight at your side!!!!”
Many fans also said they would stop watching Brazzers’ content.
Brazzers responded on Twitter: “Hey @nikkibenz we’re behind you and will never tolerate negative behavior towards stars by any 3rd party producer.”
It also linked to a statement saying the company does not “produce content ourselves but commission producers to do so on our behalf.”
“We understand that this particular scene was an unscripted scene with the artistic direction left open to the producer’s discretion,” the company said. “Brazzers considers performers’ consent, boundaries and limits and safety to be fundamental and paramount issues and unequivocally stands for the respect of the performers. Brazzers does not condone nor does it tolerate conduct by producers that would jeopardize a performer’s security or well-being.”
It also said it would “thoroughly investigate” and that “this particular type of scene would never meet our standards and would be rejected immediately.”
Last month, reports about the Bernardo Bertulocci film “Last Tango in Paris” led some to believe that actress Maria Schneider had been raped on camera — though she herself did not make that allegation, and Bertolucci later said there had been a “ridiculous misunderstanding.”
In this case, Benz said unequivocally that she was assaulted on camera. (She did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.)
Last year, several women said they were assaulted by porn actor James Deen, including on porn sets. Deen vehemently denied the accusations, and no criminal charges have been filed.
“Cal/OSHA did investigate the possibility of sexual assault hazards in the workplace in this particular investigation,” Cal/OSHA spokesman Peter Melton told TheWrap on Wednesday. But he said Cal/OSHA did not investigate allegations against Deen that were alleged to have occurred earlier than six months before the investigation, because Cal/OSHA can only cite for violations within six months.
The investigation of Deen‘s production company led to Cal/OSHA issuing citations in March with proposed penalties of $77,875 “for multiple violations of state condom and other safety laws which exposed performers to sexually transmitted infections and illnesses.”
Deen said at the time that he was unfairly targeted and that his performers were given the option of using condoms, but preferred not to.
(For the record: An earlier draft of this story said state officials “investigated allegations by several women who said they were assaulted by porn actor James Deen, including on porn sets.” Deen’s lawyer said this was false, and Cal/OSHA later provided the detail above.)