Ok, I started thinking about this today, and I wondered what the implications would be if people started making deepfake videos of either dead or retired porn stars. For those of you unaware, deepfake videos are porn videos with the faces of celebrities superimposed (and often very realistic) onto the bodies of porn actresses.

On the surface, I can see some people lighting me up quite severely on this; however, I would ask that you look at the whole picture first.

The first thing I will say is that I'm not advocating for this, I'm just saying it was an interesting thought. I know that deepfake videos in general have their own questionable standing, and it isn't something I'm at all interested in myself. That's right, I like porn porn not deepfake porn. And there is more than enough porn porn to keep me well satisfied.

Ok, that being said, let's get started. Let's start with deepfakes of dead porn stars. Would you be ok with this? I would like to draw my first comparison with Vincent van Gogh. This was a genius painter that committed suicide (allegedly) 132 years ago. To this day, art enthusiasts still enjoy his works and imitate his style. Should we stop looking at these works because he is dead? Or committed suicide? Now, I know there is a world of difference between a dead genius painter who made beautiful works of art and a dead adult actress that made porn. Their productions and audiences were completely different. I would argue, however, that they are both artists. Incidentally, my understanding of why porn is legal in the U.S. is because it is considered artistic expression and covered by the free speech protections in the constitution.

Let's change it up a little. Suppose we are talking about adult actresses from the 50's, 60's, or 70's that have passed. Is that better? Let's change it up some more. Suppose the estate of the adult actress was ok with the deepfake using her image? Let's change it up some more. Suppose that a portion of the profit of said deepfakes went to the estate? Or how about to charity or towards building a new hospital?

Ok, lets talk about deepfakes of retired porn stars. Naturally, I would expect that the adult actress be consulted and permission be obtained. What if they gave permission? What if they got some profit from their image? I will give the example of retired porn star Asia Carrera. She has previously reached out to her fans (who did step up by the way) for financial assistance long after she retired. Do you think she would be ok with someone using her image if she got some extra cash?

Last thought. Suppose a young actress wanted to make some money in the porn business, but didn't want her face plastered all over the internet due to the stigma attached. Would you ok with her using a retired porn star's face?

Discuss.