CANOGA PARK, Calif.—This afternoon, the Free Speech Coalition released an open letter to the news media, addressed to President Trump's personal attorney Rudolf Giuliani, regarding the recent "appalling" comments he made regarding adult actress/director Stormy Daniels in recent interviews he gave in Tel Aviv and Washington, D.C.. What follows is the text of that letter:
Dear Mr. Giuliani,
As the trade association for the adult industry, we were appalled by your remarks this morning about Stormy Daniels.
Sex work is real work, and the way a sex worker makes their living has nothing to do with whether they should be afforded respect or equal protection under the law. The credibility of a woman’s word should not be grounded in her chastity, or how she dresses, or how she earns a living.
We wish that your misguided views were yours alone, and were not emblematic of larger issues in law enforcement, the legal system and the culture at large. Because of views like yours, sex workers are often unable to report crimes, from theft to assault and harassment, for fear that they will not be believed, or will be prosecuted themselves.
Because of views like yours, judges have ruled in favor of rapists and domestic abusers, over the women they have attacked. Because of views like yours, landlords and banks and employers freely discriminate against sex workers, or those who may have done sex work in the past.
This, not the work they do to feed and house themselves, to pay for tuition and save for retirement, is the real exploitation.
And it’s not just sex workers. Women who come forward against their accusers are routinely tarred with the same bigoted brush you used on Stormy Daniels. A woman who suffers discrimination, or harassment, or assault is too often judged on some man’s idea as to whether or not she is ‘respectable.’
Your prejudice is not surprising at a time when women’s rights are actively being curtailed, from access to healthcare, to reproductive rights, to the repeal of the Obama-Era Fair Pay Order—an order that had banned forced arbitration clauses for sexual harassment, sexual assault or discrimination claims.
Last year, we saw over five million people participating in Women’s Marches across the country protesting backward views such as yours. This past weekend, as part of International Whore’s Day, we saw thousands of sex workers march and rally for their rights, and against dangerous SESTA/FOSTA legislation signed by Mr. Trump.
Times are changing—and our communities will not stand by silently while oppressive systems threaten our freedoms, safety, and dignity.
Women’s Rights are Human Rights.
Sex Worker Rights are Human Rights.
Sex workers need rights, not rescue. And certainly not your shameful disrespect.
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The letter, complete with reproductions of some of Giuliani's worst quotes, has been reproduced on the Free Speech Coalition website here. Free Speech Coalition is the trade organization of the adult content production and pleasure products industries. Its website can be found here.
