February 15, 2008

Micheal Lucas Speaks At Stanford University

Gay porn producer Michael Lucas was a guest speaker at Stanford University last night, and I really wish I could have been there. Controversy follows him everywhere he goes, so naturally there was some shit-stirrers commenting before he even arrived. Below is Michael's report on last night's event, and I suspect there will be other versions published soon. Links to comments in the student newspaper are at the end.

The GayVN Summit begins today, leading up to the GayVN Awards on Saturday, not to mention International Bear Rendezvous (IBR) going on this weekend, too! (Yikes, how can you be in 10 places at once when you're no where at all?)

I predict there will be lots of juicy gossip from the bears and the gay porn industry - so much that I will be in my usual predicament of being out-and-about with my ear to the ground so much that I end up having no time to actually report on the good stuff!

I hope Michael approves of the photo of us from last week. (He made me delete the ones he didn't like right there on the spot.) Mr. Pam took it, so he trusts her. She also cornered me in the parking lot and ambushed with questions for his autobiographical documentary, and I was not prepared!

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Hello Everyone,

First let me tell you that I had a wonderful time speaking at Stanford. It was a paid engagement, and I was honored to be hired by such an prestigious institution. They gave me the best reception, from accommodations at the best hotel in town to an enjoyable dinner with the organizers of the event—about 10 students—who were absolutely marvelous to talk with.

In my speech I addressed the controversy, talked about my life and business, discussed my stance on safe sex, and made clear my political views. It was followed by a Q&A session, where I answered over 30 questions in over an hour, but just like my engagements at Yale, NYU, and Rutgers, there wasn't time to answer all the questions. The students appreciated my straight talk and honest approach.

The only one controversial moment that I can recall in the two hours on stage was when one of the students asked me why the gay adult industry "segregates" African-American models. I answered that he probably has never seen my films, as my movies are all interracial. I've personally performed with African-American actors at least 20 times in my career, and numerous African-American actors are constantly featured in my films. That's why one of my very first awards at the GAYVNs was for Best Ethnic-Themed Video, as I've always used actors from all over the world, from South America to the Middle East. The student, however, tried to provoke me and kept asking about the issue, wondering why other studios don't use more African-American actors. I gave him a very straightforward and a very truthful answer, stating the fact that though we would all love to see more African-American actors applying to work in our films, we don't have as many of them doing so. And the reason is simple: homophobia in the African-American community, which prevents them from applying. This one particular student started arguing, and I repeated my statement and told him that the truth does not always stay in the middle... sometimes it's either on the right or the left, sometimes the truth can be unpleasant. But homophobia in the African-American community is a well-known fact. It's not even a subject for argument. Homophobia something that we should all be working on in every community, regardless of race.

I thanked the students for coming in such a large number, especially on the evening of Valentine's Day. I received a round of applause and spent about 20 minutes signing autographs. The entire event was filmed by my friend, cameraman Mr. Pam. I will release it in a couple of weeks. It will also be included in a documentary about my life which will be out sometime this Fall.

Below are three articles that appear in the Stanford Daily today. One is a report on the event, one is an editorial, and the third is my response to yesterday's Stanford Daily article about me, which I appreciate that they reprinted in full.

Report: "Lucas talks safe-sex, AIDS and controversy"

Editorial: "Silencing speakers"

Op-Ed: "Racism and intolerance: disappointing at liberal university"

And in case you missed it, here's the article the Daily printed yesterday, "Adult film star's remarks spark debate"

Best regards,

Michael Lucas
CEO, Lucas Entertainment

Posted by lavenderlounge at 10:54 AM

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