by Nick Gillespie of Reason.com
John Stagliano has been in the pornography business for more than 20 years. His long career includes a starring role in the first Chippendales troupe, various parts in porn films, and eventually success as a producer and distributor of adult movies, including the popular Buttman series. Now the federal government is prosecuting him for obscenity based on two pictures, Milk Nymphos and Storm Squirters 2: Target Practice, and a trailer on his website, evilangel.com.
Stagliano is not just a hard-core pornographer but a hard-core libertarian (and a donor to the Reason Foundation, the nonprofit that publishes this magazine). Nick Gillespie, editor of reason online and reason.tv, spoke with Stagliano in April about his career and his upcoming trial. A longer version of the interview can be seen at reason.tv.
Q: Today you were arraigned by the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., on charges of obscenity. What was your plea?
A: Not guilty.
Q: Obscenity isn’t protected under the First Amendment. The relevant Supreme Court case is Miller v. California, which says the definition of obscenity depends on “community standards.” Part of your defense will be to question the definition of obscenity established in that case.
A: Films like these are in the marketplace and have been for years. They’re already in the community. But it’s also true that DVD sales are going down rather rapidly right now, and people are consuming their pornography on the Internet. And the community standard of the Internet is very different.
When this Miller case came down in 1973, pornography, if it was going to be shown anywhere, was going to be shown in a theater. The theater was going to be in a public street where everybody could drive by the marquee and see that it’s there, and their children could see that it’s there. Everything had to be out in the open.
That’s a way different world than what we have today, where people consume pornography in the privacy of their own homes, just on their computers. It’s not in the public’s face at all when it’s there.
Q: Why do you think the prosecution is occurring now?
A: Maybe they wanted to do it quickly before the election so that they could throw a bone to the religious right and say, “See, we’re upholding what you want up to uphold, so vote for us; keep us in office.”
Q: Is there a class component to this fight?
A: Pornography is the way for people with less money and less power to get off. If you’ve got lots of money, if you were a king or a nobleman a couple hundred years ago, or if today you’re a high-priced lawyer or a congressman or a senator…
Q: …or a governor of New York…
A: …or a governor of New York, you can afford call girls. You can get off and have your sexual desires satisfied. If you’re a normal working guy, you can’t afford that. Porno is what you get off on. And that’s what the government wants to suppress. That, to me, is just rotten.
Q: You came into the industry at a time when the consumption of porn was shifting from a public thing to a private matter. Does that shift show up in your aesthetic? How does that relate to your strong views on privacy?
A: I’m not a big exhibitionist at all. Some people don’t like porno, and it should not be in their faces. I’ve always been very uncomfortable with some people who make porno movies that want to say, “Oh, this is free speech, and I’m out there and I’m just talking about it all the time.” That’s not me. I’m out there, and I make my porno movies for the people who love porno. They’re my fans.
John makes the best porn you can watch, he has integrity in a buisness that is primarily lacking that quality. My love to your family John, anything you need please don’t hesitate to drop me a line.Your friend,Ruby
Ruby, are you still selling ass at a Nevada brothel?
Nevada is to far, not worth being away from my son. And I was really renting not selling. The whole game still turns me on.
That is my girl!
Yeah, some women are meant to sell pussy and I say that sincerely. The reverse is true. The last thing some women should do is sell pussy.
Some women have a body that actually improves and stays fit because of the thousands of cocks that go in them. My favorites are:
Ruby
Phyllisha Anne
Laurel Canyon
Lisa Ann
Tiffany Mynx
Theres nothing better then to fuck a whore that loves being a whore. As a man you will leave feeling refreshed and satisfied. I fucked Phyllisha a few years ago and I still reminisce about it. It was like she was determined to get every drop of cum I had.
She did.
Because theres no way on Earth I would goto Ohio.
You could offer to fuck me 6 times a day and pay me $1000 per day and still wouldnt go.
Ohio, West Virgina and Pennsylvania are the arm pits of the US. I’ve been to all three and I couldnt believe I was still in the US. I thought I had traveled to the middle ages.
I completely understand that your money goes farther in hillbilly country but I would rather be dirt poor in California then super rich in Appalachia.
Thats just me.
Are you going to the show in Vegas in Jan? I wouldnt mind testing out your well used baby maker as long as I can videotape.
You shot a scene with a tall lanky fellow that lived in North Las Vegas many years back. His wife used to do porn if that rings a bell but dont say his name.
Hello im Amy , im not in the porn business .. Im just a married lady from New England who came accross this site , My husband and myself watch adult videos from time to time , And I have found all your comments very fascinating and sometimes quite entertaining yet informative .
Big Dick Daddy if I may ask have you ever worked with Mika Tan ? , shes my husband’s favorite .
How come you haven’t fucked me yet? I’m one size fits all.
That would be his X one of my best friends. Not going to Vegas this year too busy with my son and I love the midwest, four seasons, cheaper less headache.
Amy41, no I have not fucked Mika Tan. I’m not a racist by any stretch but I dont find Asian women attractive and no one has hired me to fuck one.
If hired I would do the scene.
Personally I find girls who grew up in trailer parks incredibly attractive. Their slutty care free attitudes are hot. Yeah its shameful but I like skinny bottle-blondes with tramp stamps driving camaros or Ford F150s.
Its dark secret that I try to hide most of the time but since there will be a bunch at Burning Man I figured I’d let the sluts know to be looking for me since I’ll be looking for them.
John Stagliano would be a good guest for the upcoming new season of ‘Real Time with Bill Maher’ on HBO. Especially, since the election is coming up & they’re both Libertarians.
BDD, I agree with you completely: skinny blonde white trash whores are the best bang for a man’s buck, they might be emotionally fucked up and mean spirited, but they know how to take cocks and fists up the shitter and swallow piss and semen. All those years of living in the trailer had thought them well. Deep down they might be good, or bad, or ugly, but I don’t care about none of that. I just want my beer and my blow job.
I wish Mister Stagliano all the best with his lawsuit. Karen could drop dead, for all I care.
the coverage of the most recent obscenity prosecutions by the “adult” press has been nothing short of complete bullshit.
Blatant mistakes about the actual charges, and basic misinformation about the trials themselves. And just for the recored, The government does not convict anybody, it is the JURY that convicts.
If MR. Stagliano, as he says above here, believes that the mere availability of his product in the community makes it acceptable he is just wrong. Max tried that defense. He lost,bigtime.
There are alot of things that are readily available in any community, it does not mean that they are in line with the community standards. (prostitution, underage prostitutes, heroin, methamphetamine,phony id documents, the list is endless)Yes, these are all illegal in and of themselves, but if the JURy decides that Mr. Stags product is obscene, then so be it.
Just because they are available does not mean they are acceptable.
Wll MR. Stag take the stand and fight for his rights or willhe pull a MAX and sit silintly hiding BEHIND the first amendment and hoping nobody sees him there.(fully within his rights to remain silent)…Or will he continue to talk in all of these forums, against his attorneys advice, until it comes to the real time to speak up in fromt to the jury. At that time I would put my money on him remaining silent instead of being put on the stand under oath and telling the truth.
Crunch time is coming Mr. Stagliano. Will you be the one with the guts to take the stand and tell the truth, or will you exercise your right to remain silent in the ONE AND ONLY forum that really counts…I bet just like almost every other pornographer you will remain silent because the truth will convict you.
Just my 2 cents worth.
I wonder why the violent action-adventure movie genre doesn’t violate the “community standards” laws. I’ve learned so many ways to kill a man. These “obscenity” prosections seem to be only against the porn movie genre. No other movie genre have “obscene” acts and/or scenes? Shouldn’t the “community standards” laws be applied equally for each & every movie genre or not at all? I suppose people like the governator, Bush, McCain & their ilk don’t believe so.