Cousin Stevie Interview

I talk by phone Thursday afternoon, March 17, 2005, to a star of the Showtime reality series Family Business.

Duke: "I'm running tape."

Stevie: "F--- off."

Duke: "How did you get into the adult business?"

Stevie: "I was working as a sales manager for a computer scanning company. Adam [Seymore Butts] called about seven years ago. He said he needs a business manager. Family's family."

Duke: "So what did you think when Adam, I assume, first brought up the idea of a reality show?"

Stevie: "Remember the PBS special [on porn in September 2001]? The Showtime people saw that and approached Adam about doing a reality-based series. The reason we agreed to expose our lives is that maybe we would teach some people out there that porn people are not the people they were in the '50s where you drugged girls and you had black socks and dark glasses. It was done to help put a more positive spin on the adult business."

Duke: "Did you have fears, concerns, questions when this was first brought to you?"

Stevie: "Yeah. Especially since I was never in front of the camera before this. Adam was accustomed to it. He's been on camera since 1990. But it was a family thing. Especially as you get older, you realize how important family is."

Duke: "When you first heard that Adam was in the porn business, what were you thinking?"

Stevie: "Man, when can I come see this thing? I did come on some sets and I got to know Shane and Taylor and Alisha [Klass] and Mari [Posa]. I had to discuss this with my wife. Did she mind that I was on camera? She said, if it makes you happy, go right ahead."

Duke: "How did she feel about appearing on camera?"

Stevie: "She didn't know she was going to be... As the program evolved, it involved more of the family. It's part of what you give up when you do these kind of shows.

"I was never in this business. She didn't sign on when we got married to be in this business. Now that I'm also filming my own series, the Pussy Party series, she has been more encouraging... It becomes a real threat. We're older and I'm hanging around 22-year old naked women. How many of her girlfriends called and said, how could you let your husband?

"She said, he's 55-years old. What do you mean, let him? If he was going to cheat, he would cheat, no matter what he was doing. As long as he's happy, I don't worry about how he makes a living."

Duke: "Are you allowed to get some on the side?"

Stevie: "No. In fact, she says, blowjobs are ok, but nothing else. But I don't do that. I refuse to be one of these directors that degrade women on the set and ask for favors... I learned from Adam. When I first went to work for Adam, he said, girls are going to approach you and offer you all sorts of things. We don't do that. I wouldn't do it.

"At this time in my life, another pussy is only another pussy."

Duke: "Is there any one girl who is most tempting to you?"

Stevie: "Do you know who is most outrageous? Julie Night. If I was going to do a fling, I could probably get away with Julie Night. She does things my wife has never even thought of. One night we were talking it and she was saying how she drank all that --- and swallowed goldfish and then spit them up."

Duke: "Your wife doesn't do that?"

Stevie: "I don't think so. Nor does she take two dicks up her ass."

Duke: "What kind of toll did the [2000] obscenity prosecution take on Adam and what lessons did you learn from it?"

Stevie: "I learned, don't be Don Quixote. You don't fight windmills. Try and work within the boundaries. That obscenity case dragged on for nine months until they accepted the offer they put on table at first. They were hoping we'd cave in or not spend the $90,000 it cost in legal fees. They just made us spend money. And that's the way they'll beat the smaller companies. I'm sure Rob Black's legal fees must be at least $250,000 by now."

Duke: "What have you loved the most about doing this reality show and what have you hated the most?"

Stevie: "It's the same thing. I've loved the recognition and I've hated the recognition. I'm a New Yorker. Walking down the street, strangers approach me, and the first thing I think is, did I do something? Is this a fight or am I getting mugged? I still have that New York attitude about strangers approaching. At conventions and stuff, you don't get that apprehension."

Duke: "Are there things that the producers of the reality show have asked you to do and you said no?"

Stevie: "Yes."

He wouldn't elaborate for publication.

Stevie: "I felt there was enough anti-Semitism around without contributing to hatred. We're still having feudal wars in 2005. We're having crusades today over religion. I happen to be Jewish because I was raised in a Jewish home. If, at a year old, I was adopted and put in a Muslim home, I'd probably be a Muslim. Organized religion is a brainwash."

Duke: "What does being Jewish mean to you?"

Stevie: "I don't believe Jesus was the Savior. Otherwise, I don't think the religions are that different. It's more of a cult thing than a religious thing. Family. Like Italians."

Duke: "Do you get much anti-Semitic mail?"

Stevie: "I've had a few emails like, 'You fat ugly Jewish bastard.' I write back to these people, thank you for the compliment. Then they've got to say, this guy is as crazy as he is on the show. Then they don't ever email back.

"At this time in my life, if it's not fun, I wouldn't do it."

Duke: "There's a picture of Adam at his bar mitzvah at the top of the show. It's clear that you are all Jewish. Do you have any concerns that this could fuel anti-Semitism?"

Stevie: "No. Anti-Semitism is fueled by ignorant people."

Duke: "Is there more of it in the adult industry than the rest of the world?"

Stevie: "I don't think so. Most of my life I was in computer fields. There are more affairs going on there than in the adult business. These girls in the adult business are getting laid all they want and are getting paid for it. They're not going to just have an affair unless there's love. To just have a one night stand, most of them are not going to do it because they can get paid for a one night stand. I think there is less extra-curricular sex going on in this business than in most mainstream businesses."

Duke: "How has this reality show affected you and your family and the way you relate to each other?"

Stevie: "I don't think it has made any difference. Like any family, when you have an argument, you don't want it on camera. Some of them they keep off and some of them they don't.

"Adam is the boss. It's his company. We don't always see eye-to-eye. I have experience in other industries that I like to bring to him and he has the right to veto it, and I don't always like it. We have some heated arguments."

Duke: "What's the story between you and Tommy, the warehouse guy who doesn't seem to take your orders?"

Stevie: "No, no, no. Tommy is an East Coast sort of guy. I feel that if you are going to dish it out, you've got to be able to take it. I happen to be a sarcastic East Coast prick. And Tom is a sarcastic guy. He does the job. He just gives me a hard time."

Duke: "You are cast as the screwball in this show. How much is real and how much is TV?"

Stevie: "I am, I don't want to say a screwball, but sometimes I do things my way and Adam has other ways to do it. The bottom line is the job gets done. I don't have to do it the way he wants me to do it.

"Sometimes I f--- up, but I would've f---ed up if I had done it his way also. Like when I was getting the lap dance and I told him I was stuck in traffic. Now he saw that and laughed about it and he tells me if I tell him I'm stuck in traffic, he'll say stick the phone out the window. I want to hear the traffic."

Duke: "If she gave you such a good lapdance that you ejaculated, would that be cheating?"

Stevie: "No. I don't think so. My wife might answer that question differently."

Duke: "In the show, you are not just doing things your way, you are screwing up a lot. You didn't send Adam his promotional material."

Stevie: "No. He didn't get it. I had delegated it and it didn't get done.

"I resent micro-management as most people do. When I give a guy a task to do and he says he will do it, I assume it gets done. Well, that time I f---ed up. My fault."

Duke: "Did you really forget your wife's 25th anniversary?"

Stevie: "Yeah. Thanks to Adam, we put it all together and it turned out to be great.

"To men, an anniversary after so many years is just another day. To women it's a big deal. My wife could care less if she doesn't get a present for her birthday. But G-d forbid I forget to get her a card. And she wants it on the day. If I get a card a month later and someone remembers my birthday, it doesn't matter. I think men feel that way. Women are more uptight about dates."

Duke: "What is your wife's attitude to the porn industry?"

Stevie: "She watches porn. We watched porn before Adam got into the business. Her attitude is that it's a living. It's not the way she would make a living. All of us spent about a month trying to talk Mari Possa out of getting into the business. I think it takes its toll on a lot of the women [talent]. It depends on your director. Adam directs so that the girls are having fun and they control the scenes. In other words, the guy is not going to run across the room and shove a dick up her ass without lube and preparation.

"A lot of the girls in this business, by the time they come in to shoot the scene, they've already spent the money they're going to earn in the scene. If you tell them you want them to do this rather than what you told them, they'll capitulate because they spent the money. We don't do that. If all the directors were like that, there wouldn't be the toll. A lot of the women are bitter about the way they're treated. Even though they make more money than men, which makes no sense."

Duke: "Would you like to see a more realistic portrayal of the industry? As you said, Family Business is a positive portrayal of the industry. We try to control... Once in a while you see some of the negatives in the business. We tell them, don't show that.

"I told Adam, we've got a nationwide television program. We should capitalize on that. I should come out with a series. He says, why don't you go to the store, check out things, and try to pick a niche that no one else is doing. And mine is certainly that. There is no six-girl or eight-girl shoot that is a wild party orgy with judges who award cash prizes up to $1,000 at the end beside the [talent's] fees.

"What you're getting for a girl-girl shoot is not big money. Seven hundred dollars for a day is not bad money. It's an easier shoot than a boy-girl shoot because they're controlling what gets put in them."

Duke: "What do you think about the use of Adam's son Brady on the show?"

Stevie: "He's part of the show. He's a part of our family. Why shouldn't he be in the show?"

Duke: "Because it's a show about the porn industry."

Stevie: "It's also a show about our family and how we react to this business."

Duke: "Have you suffered much stigma from friends and acquaintances because of your participation in the show?"

Stevie: "From friends, no. Probably some acquaintances I don't talk to anymore. Listen, I'm not selling drugs on the street. As I say to everyone that argues, if it wasn't for sex, where would you be? The adult industry has been around since recorded time. The ancient Romans had wild orgies."

Duke: "Would you like to see prostitution decriminalized?"

Stevie: "Two things I believe should be decriminalized and taxed: Prostitution and pot. First, let's stop putting people in jail over it. These are victimless crimes. Let's stop supporting the underworld."

Duke: "Do you think people should be allowed to have sex with animals?"

Stevie: "That's a good question. I see nothing wrong with it. It doesn't hurt anybody. If that's what floats their boat, why shouldn't they?"

Duke: "Would you describe yourself as libertarian?"

Stevie: "I'm somewhere left of the middle. The government says we can't show breasts on television because it will corrupt the children? What about blowing a person's head off? Little kids can see that all day long. That's ok?"

Duke: "Do you ever feel that there's too much pornography in our society or that it has affected too much of our society?"

Stevie: "I don't think it has affected our society at all. It has educated some people. When I was 21 and I was with a girl who squirted, I thought she peed on me. That's not peeing. That's squirting. It's opened up because a lot of women didn't talk about that back then. It's made people who do squirt feel more comfortable. The adult industry has done some good on educating people.

"Do I think children should see it? Absolutely not. I don't think that seeing women squirt is the way I'd like my grandson indoctrinated into sex. Or seeing a fisting scene."

Duke: "How about a 15-year old girl wearing a t-shirt that says 'Porn Star'?"

Stevie: "If it was my daughter, she wouldn't get out of the house."

Duke: "How is doing business in adult differing from doing business outside adult?"

Stevie: "Not that much different. You get the same amount of flakes and bulls--- in both industries. What bothers me about this industry is that they stab one another. Rather than working together. We have somebody out there trying to control freedom of speech. If the whole industry banded together, they wouldn't be able to chip at us like they did with Adam.

"If you had a single lawyer who represented the industry, and the government saw the same lawyer appearing every time... Why don't they go after Flynt anymore? Or Playboy? Because they have lawyers on their staff and it doesn't cost them anything extra to fight it.

"I believe there's too much stuff outside of [subscription] websites. That hurts the market. If I can masturbate to what's on the outside, I don't have to join and I don't have to buy tapes. That's a place where the government could put some controls, though it is hard to control the internet."

Duke: "Why do you think girls perform in porn?"

Stevie: "Because it's a good living and you don't have to work that hard. I also think that a lot of the girls had some problems when they were younger. They were mistreated somehow. Howard Stern asks them all the time. I'd say probably 75% of them were molested either verbally or physically if not sexually abused when they were younger. Or come from a broken home."

Duke: "What motivates you most strongly? When are you pumping with adrenalin?"

Stevie: "When we've got a new release and I'm selling it to the distributors. Lately, I've been excited when shooting my videos."

Duke: "Do you get tired of the series portraying you as a..."

Stevie: "A bumbler? A conundrum? No. People relate more to the middle-class guy than the upper-class guy. I've gotten a lot of great emails and met a lot of lovely people. Am I tired? I hope the show goes on for ten years."