Deen entered the porn industry in 2004 at the age of 18. He gained attention due to his relatively slender build, lack of tattoos, andeveryman appeal, bucking the stereotypical image ofhypermasculine male actors in the pornography industry.[1] In late 2015, multiple women came forward with allegations ofsexual misconduct, includingrape, against Deen, with the most notable being his former girlfriendJoanna Angel.[8]
According to Deen, performing in pornographic films was his ambition since he was inkindergarten.[4] Around age 15, he left high school and spent two years homeless.[4] He graduated fromLa Cañada High School in 2004.[13] At 17, Deen moved in with his father. He worked at aStarbucks for two years and took classes atPasadena City College.[11][14]
After entering thepornography industry in 2004, he initially worked witholder female performers.[1] In 2009, he was named the "Male Performer of the Year" byAVN at the age of 22, making him the youngest actor to have won this award.[1] Deen has a fan following among teenage girls, a demographic typically not associated with the pornographic industry.[1] In February 2012,ABC Nightline aired the featurePorn's Boy Next Door, which included interviews with Deen and his fans. One fan described him as "theRyan Gosling of porn".[15]
In September 2012, Deen was a participant in a press conference, along with others opposingLos Angeles CountyMeasure B, an initiative which would require condom usage in the pornographic film industry.[16] Deen questioned the measure's constitutionality.
Deen on a film set in 2007
Deen's collaborations include work with pornographic site WoodRocket.com. As the host of original web series,James Deen Loves Food, Deen has been featured reviewing top restaurants, ordering every item on a drive-thru menu at once, and creating a $580burrito.[17]
In February 2013, Deen was invited to return to his alma mater,Pasadena City College, by professorHugo Schwyzer[22] to speak to students about his career. The appearance, initially open to the public, was restricted by college administrators due to "public-safety concerns" over "protesters".[23] Deen was restricted to speaking to the students of Pasadena City College's "Navigating Pornography" class.[22]In April 2013, Deen delivered the keynote speech for theSexual Health Fest at theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison.[24]
Deen was featured in a July 2012GQ multi-page article, chronicling his work and personal life.[4]GQ interviewed Deen again for an article about his workout regimen, in which he credited healthy eating habits, a "Jew stomach", and performing strenuous sex acts on camera.[25] In 2013, Deen was listed as the only male performer to make theCNBCDirty Dozen list of theporn industry's popular stars.[26]
In April 2013, Deen filmed a pornographic scene with reality television participantFarrah Abraham, who had been in one of theTeen Mom series. Deen indicated that he was asked to pretend to be dating Abraham as part of a ploy to market the scene as an accidentally releasedsex tape, but that he refused to do so, arguing, "If you're going to make a celebrity sex tape and try to pass it off as an amateur home video, you don't hire a well-known porn star!"[27]
Deen co-starred withLindsay Lohan inPaul Schrader's 2013 filmThe Canyons, written byBret Easton Ellis.[5][28] In July 2013, Deen teamed with American pornographic actress Andy San Dimas, adult app storeMiKandi and adult industry news sourceXBIZ, to release the first adult video production recorded withGoogle Glass. Within 24 hours, the censored trailer reached one million views onYouTube.[29]
Deen filmed a sex scene withHuffington Post blogger and comedian Jenn Tisdale in late 2013, in a New York City hotel room, after she responded to an open invitation by Deen onTwitter.[30][31]
Deen has a sizable fan base; his fans, dubbed "Deenagers", have created social media fan pages onTumblr,Pinterest and standalone fan sites. Deenagers regularly share and comment on Deen's work. In February 2013, Deen launched JamesDeenStore.com.[32] In addition to Deen's films and adult novelties, the store features Deen's Baby Panda brand of clothing.[33]
In January 2014, Deen joined the newly formedAdult Performer Advocacy Committee (APAC), which provides representation for performers within the adult film industry, protects performers' rights, reviews existing health and safety protocols, and initiates new ones as needed.[34] As part of the committee's launch, APAC released aPorn 101 video.[35] A DVD copy was released to all industry talent attending the recentAdult Entertainment Expo inLas Vegas, Nevada.[36] Deen has served asTreasurer and served asChairperson of APAC until December 2015, when he stepped down following accusations from fellow performers.[37][38]
On June 25, 2014, Deen participated in aReddit A.M.A. He received over 4,000 questions over the course of an hour,[39] making Deen's AMA listed by Reddit as the most popular on the site as of the following morning.[40]
From 2005 to 2011, Deen dated fellow pornography starJoanna Angel.[41] In an interview withThe Huffington Post from July 2013, porn actressStoya stated that she was dating Deen. They dated from 2012 to 2014.[42]
On November 28, 2015, Deen was publicly accused ofrape by pornographic actress and writerStoya, with whom he had had a previous relationship.[47] She wrote in atweet:
James Deen held me down and fucked me while I said no, stop, used mysafeword. I just can't nod and smile when people bring him up anymore.[48]
Deen denied the allegations, calling them "false and defamatory".[49] Deen's former girlfriendJoanna Angel was one of the first performers to publicly support Stoya. OnThe Jason Ellis Show on Sirius XM, Angel alleged that Deen had been verbally and physically abusive during their six-year relationship.[41][50]
In total, nine women came forward with allegations of abuse and unnecessarily rough sex during scenes.[51] The allegations included claims that Deen forcibly had anal sex with a woman during a non-anal scene,[52] that he physically restrained and hit several women, and forced one woman's face into his crotch to "sniff his testicles".[53]Amber Rayne said that during a shoot, Deen punched her in the face and caused her anus to bleed with violent anal sex.[52]
Following the allegations against him,Kink.com,Evil Angel, and HardX.com severed all ties with Deen,[54] stating that "consent is sacrosanct".The Frisky cancelled Deen's sexual advice column and removed advertisements for and links to Deen's official site from previously published editions. Deen voluntarily resigned as chairman of the Adult Performer Advocacy Committee.[38][55]
In December 2015, an article inThe Daily Beast referred to Deen as the "Bill Cosby of porn",[56][57] while the feminist siteWe Hunted the Mammoth wrote that James Deen seemed to be "a perfect example" of amissing stair.[58] Deen later gave an interview toThe Daily Beast where he stated he was "baffled" by the accusations and denied or offered counter-explanations for them.[59]
In 2016, Deen and his production company faced a $77,875 fine for violating aCalifornia safety law by failing to providecondoms for performers, failing to disclose safety records, and other violations.[60]
In July 2017, director Maria Demopoulos filed a lawsuit against Deen for blocking the distribution of a documentary that addresses the numerous rape and sexual assault allegations against him by stealinglegal releases from her office.[61]
Sociologist Chris Waugh argues that Deen's continued financial success and popularity in the face of severe allegations of sexual misconduct raises questions of accountability within the porn industry.[54] Journalist Catriona Innes, writing inCosmopolitan, argues that Deen's case represents the porn industry's insulation from the effects of the#MeToo movement.[54][62]
^Certain award groups do not simply award one winner. They acknowledge several different recipients, have runners-up, and have third place. Since this is a specific recognition and is different from losing an award, runner-up mentions are considered wins in this award tally. For simplification and to avoid errors, each award in this list has been presumed to have had a prior nomination.
Potter, Claire (2016). "Not Safe for Work: Why Feminist Pornography Matters".Dissent.63 (2):104–114.doi:10.1353/dss.2016.0041.ISSN1946-0910.Recently, the porn actress Stoya accused her former partner, James Deen, an actor popular with female porn audiences, of rape and assault off the set.
