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Cherie DeVille has been running this industry longer than half of your favorite TikTokers have been alive. She’s got more than 1,500 credits to her name, exclusive deals with Brazzers, and an advocacy resume that would put most politicians to shame. The woman has earned degrees from the University of Hartford and the University of Saint Augustine, a board seat with the Adult Performer Advocacy Committee, and a dog-loving, Dungeons & Dragons-playing domestic life in L.A. And yet, here she is, still shaking trophies in 2025 with two brand-new XMA Awards for “Best Sex Scene.”

I spoke with Cherie for a no-bullshit conversation about porn’s politics, death, and why you’ll never kill an industry that people pretend to hate but can’t stop watching.

Age Verification Laws: The Fun Police Strikes Again

WTB: With the UK’s recent rollout of stricter age verification laws tanking site traffic, do you think the U.S. might pull a copycat move? How would that hit the industry in terms of money, viewership, and safety?

Cherie: “What will likely happen is that this will punish actors and companies who follow the laws. Anytime you push prohibition, you create a black market. Bad actors will emerge, often based overseas where the West lacks jurisdiction, and these groups will ignore the law. You already see this in U.S. states with age verification laws. Pornhub follows the law; XVideos doesn’t. These laws don’t stop minors from viewing porn, they just harm the legal porn world and reward criminals.”

Translation? Governments love to pretend they’re protecting kids while basically throwing a bag of money to pirates and shady overseas sites.

Clout Chasing or Sexual Liberation?

WTB: Lately, social media is frothing over extreme sex “challenges,” people bragging about sleeping with 1,000 men in one day. Is this liberation, or just dangerous clickbait?

Cherie: “So long as performers follow the law and everyone is safe, I believe they should be allowed to voice their free speech and create their stunts. The First Amendment protects everyone, including those I disagree with.”

So yes, if Bonnie wants to break her pelvis in a stunt marathon, that’s her right. But Cherie is clear: safety first, clout second.

Porn: Already Mainstream, Baby

WTB: With your University background and activist work, do you think porn will ever truly be accepted as art, or will moral crusaders always drag it into the gutter?

Cherie: “Porn has already gone mainstream. Bonnie Blue is on the cover of the Times of London magazine, the UK’s snootiest publication. Porn is here to stay, whether people like it or not.”

She’s not wrong. adult film stars aren’t just in the shadows anymore, they’re in your group chats, on your magazine covers, and being quoted in Rolling Stone. Respectability politics who?

Death, Stigma, and Survival

WTB: The adult industry has seen far too many performer deaths linked to suicide and overdose. What changes are most urgently needed to protect mental health in porn?

Cherie: “It’s true, there are mentally unwell people in the industry. But there are mentally unhealthy people in all industries. Because of the stigma associated with porn, every tragedy becomes symbolic of the entire industry.”

In other words, when a lawyer dies by suicide, nobody blames the law profession. But when a porn star dies, suddenly it’s proof the entire industry is broken. That stigma is the real killer.

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