Former porn star shares what is missing from the industry

A former porn star, known as the original MILF, has shared the one thing she thinks should be included in every sex scene.

Lisa Ann revealed what she wants to see in every pornographic film. Picture: Instagram

If you’ve ever consumed pornography in your life you’ve likely heard of Lisa Ann, who is best known for being one of the original “MILFs” and portraying former Alaskan governor Sarah Palin.

Lisa Ann, 51, first got her start in the adult entertainment industry at 18 when she was dancing at a club. She quickly became enamoured by the adult stars coming through as featured entertainers.

She loved the “voyeurism” of the dancing world and over two years she made contacts with these adult stars so she could make the jump into the industry and move from Pennsylvania to California.

It was the early 90s, with no internet, so she had to hire a photographer, get her photos developed and send them off by mail. Every day, she would check her mailbox to see if a company had written her back.

Lisa Ann is in Australia for Sexpo. Picture: Instagram

Now, Lisa Ann, who is in Australia for Sexpo, is a household name who has flipped the script. She now helps those getting their start in the adult industry, using what she learned to arm porn stars with the knowledge to keep themselves safe.

“We have evolved in so many ways in this world, especially when it comes to how we treat talent in the conversations that we have,” Lisa Ann told news.com.au.

“But now we have this influx with OnlyFans and we have an incredible amount of people not only coming into the industry, but also shooting their own content on OnlyFans.

Lisa Ann said she was incredibly pro everybody being able to make their own content in order to make a living.

“But the problem is they don’t really know the regulations. So what I started to sense in 2017 when this was becoming a thing – before everybody was talking about OnlyFans – was will these people know about testing? Will they be working with friends and not thinking about the importance of testing and then will they be coming onto our sets?”

She said it did create a funnel and opened up more risk. At the time, she was in her late 40s and had never contracted anything that was not treatable or curable. She had to debate whether this was a position she wanted to put herself in.

However, she did sing the praises of OnlyFans getting rid of the “bottom feeder” companies that didn’t treat talent well, because people no longer needed them to make a living.

It isn’t the only thing that she has seen change over her illustrious career – she has also seen the push for ethical pornography. Ethical pornography is defined as made legally, celebrates diversity, good working conditions, respects performers and shows both the fantasy and reality.

“I think it is manageable and possible. Not just from the industry’s standpoint, but from friends of mine that enjoy watching content,” she said.

“My male friends are similar age to me and they tell me they just feel better about watching it. They feel that because it’s ethical and because there’s such a consent level on these sets, and that they like we’ve gotten to an age where they can no longer watch something or they’re not sure if the girl is enjoying herself.

“It’s neat to know how it’s affected the consumer and how the consumer wants to be sure that the stars are being treated well and are comfortable doing the scenes that they’re doing.”

One thing she wants to see change is the lack of content showing condom use and safe sex, saying both should be part of the conversation.

In the United States, only 22 states have education on sexual awareness, safe sex and wellness. There is a huge rise in syphilis. In Australia, there were 30,112 confirmed cases of gonorrhoea in 2023, compared to 20,699 in 2021.

She began her career dancing, before moving into pornography. Picture: Instagram

“I wish that every scene would come up with a disclaimer informing people the talent is tested. I wish we would use the opportunity because it’s important, because there’s nothing worse than the stories I read of somebody that’s only had two or three partners, and now is 21 years old and has herpes and has to explain this to every partner for the rest of their life,” she said.

“There’s nothing wrong with consent conversations before you actually have sex with somebody. It’s not sanitising the experience. It’s actually using your voice to have the experience curated the way you want it.”

Lisa Ann said that everybody should carry protection, and even joked every time she goes on a trip she sends a photo of condoms in her luggage with the hashtag “hope”.

The adult industry legend also mentors young people getting their start in the industry, saying it’s important in any line of work to pass on information to make someone’s life easier.

She said she’ll often go for a walk with people in Central Park and have an open dialogue, joking that, now she has left the filming part of pornography, people are more willing to open up.

She has since left the industry, but still mentors young people. Picture: Instagram

Most recently, she helped talk a young woman through her paperwork so she could get a business manager to help with her finances and avoid any issues with the IRS.

“She sent me a photo and a video of her going through all of her bills and things and scanning them … those are things that truly give me a feeling of purpose. And I’ll always do that,” she said.

Lisa Ann said when she started her career, there was no internet. When it came, the industry had to come to grips with the idea that content would now be embedded in society forever. She said when it comes to women getting started – particularly on OnlyFans – you need to make enough money to afford security.

“If somebody wants to find you, they will go to all the measures. I don’t think people really absorb that. They think ‘oh, I’m just doing this for my house’,” she said.

“And then what happens next is some guy at the grocery store starts saying things to them because he watches them and they don’t know how to process this information.”

Her other huge piece of advice was to, for the first year, live like you did before and save any extra money you can. She said you never know when the money will go.

She now works for Sirius XM. Picture: Instagram

“You don’t want to be in a situation like an athlete where you have so many payments, but you don’t have that income coming in anymore,” she said.

Lisa Ann is currently in Australia for Sexpo, something she said is always a pleasure to attend.

When talking about how Aussie fans stack up against those in the US, she said any show outside of her home country everyone is mild mannered whereas her home country has a bit of an entitlement issue.

“A lot of the men that enjoyed my scenes feel like they have a right to enjoy me, and they can be quite aggressive,” she said.

“I did a show last weekend and half of my day was spent explaining to people that I don’t escort. And they’ll turn and say nasty things about me having sex with strangers for money on camera and demand why I don’t do that with them. So that is really draining.”

She said she has had people wait in the car park for her, say nasty things and, as a result, she has had to make sure she lives in a very secure area.

She revealed her one thing she wished was in every scene. Picture: Instagram

Lisa Ann has left the adult entertainment industry after doing radio for Sirius XM since 2013. She said if her contract was renewed twice, she knew it was time to leave.

“For the first three years I didn’t do any events, I just focused on my sports career and readjusting my life,” she said.

The hardest thing to deal with at first was negativity on the internet, with people saying vile things to her, particularly after getting her breasts reduced in size.

“My whole existence was catering to all of these men, who were then so angry at me for two reasons. One, I was retiring. Number two, when I retired, I got my boobs reduced. And I got a lot of flack for that,” she said.

I was surprised, but same time I just I had huge boobs to be in the business. They gave me a lot of money. And they were great when I was feature dancing, but it got to a point where I was in proportion for a normal existence to walk regular spaces and feel like I could blend in as much as possible.”

Now, she loves doing the simple things in life such as changing her sheets on a Saturday morning, watching television and going for coffee runs with friends – all things she missed out on when she was on the road.