NRL player Kurt Capewell’s X-rated porn video is cautionary tale

You can’t sign away your rights one day and years later take that permission back. Kurt Capewell is no exception, writes Jonathon Moran.

It is a cautionary tale I’ve long banged on about, to the point that a family member once briefly blocked me on Instagram for warning her about a revealing bikini shot she shared on the app.

When you post an image or video anywhere publicly — social media is public, people — it is no longer yours.

The fine print you sign when you join Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or any other social media site signs away and negates any rights you have to control the content.

Similarly in Kurt Capewell’s case, when he rocked up to an undies shoot on the Gold Coast in 2013 and naively signed away his rights in a general consent form, that means he now has no control over the footage or anything associated with it.

Kurt Capewell training for the 2020 Queensland State of Origin team. Picture: Scott Davis

Kurt Capewell training for the 2020 Queensland State of Origin team. Picture: AAP / Darren England

It will, and has, lived on forever no matter how much he wants it out of the public domain.

These things always come back to haunt us, which is well and truly the case for the now 27-year-old Capewell.

To be fair, I personally don’t think there is any shame in porn, as long as it is consensual, which in Capewell’s case it looked to be.
If this was a private sexual moment that was filmed without Capewell knowing, it would be a completely different case and a gross breach of privacy.

But you can’t sign away your rights one day and years later take that permission back.

The issue here is that we all need to pay attention to the detail and be aware that what we do today may have ramifications in the future.

Celebrities are often angered if their social media images are picked up by media.

I hear it all the time.

“It was a private account,” they usually say.

No social media is private, even if you change your name to something silly so you are harder to find online.

Same too with pornography. You can’t perform a sexual act publicly and later wish it away.

The internet is forever, and no matter how hard to try, someone will put a face to your name.