While interviewing some of the hundreds of homeless people living in a storm drainage system beneath the Las Vegas Strip, a Dutch documentary crew recently had an unexpected encounter.
Renowned porn performer, Jenni Lee was found—nearly unrecognizable—living in this underground community. But how and why did she get there? And what does this show us about the lie the porn industry sells about its performers living an eternally glamorous and sexy lifestyle?
Who is Jenni Lee and how did she end up in the Las Vegas tunnels?
The 37-year-old from Clarkesville, Tennessee—whose real name is Stephanie Sadorra—got her start in the entertainment industry at age 19. She began working as a mainstream model for one of Tennessee’s top agencies, appearing in a number of commercials, and eventually becoming a stripper.
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At age 21, Lee officially got her start in the adult film world and went on to have what the industry would deem a “highly successful” career. She appeared in over 105 films produced by several major companies like Penthouse and Hustler, and received a multitude of credits—including an AVN award nomination (think “The Oscars” of the adult film world) for Best Couples Sex Scene for a video produced in 2008.
Today, Lee remains ranked 119th on Pornhub’s list of best porn performers. Her Pornhub profile still has 45,000 subscribers, and roughly 235 million views, and counting.
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Lee appeared in her last credited role in 2016, then took a step back from the industry for “undetermined” reasons.
It’s unclear how she found herself homeless in the tunnels or what the exact chain of events were that led her there. But according to Lee, she’s now part of a community where she’s significantly “happier” than she was in her previous life.
The reality of life in the tunnels
The tunnels beneath the Las Vegas Strip span a labyrinth of roughly 200 miles, and have become a place of shelter for a community of dwellers seeking a “safe haven” from the streets above.
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While the channels do provide relief from the scorching heat, the area poses significant risks. According to a 2009 report by ABC’s Nightline, the tunnels are extremely dangerous and can fill with over a foot of water per minute during a storm.
Las Vegas’ News3LV describes the tunnels as a “death trap” and reports that many have almost drowned during underground floods.
When questioned about her time in the adult film industry, Lee told the crew, “I actually got very famous. Maybe a little too famous. I should still be in the top 100 on some list somewhere. I used to be so hot.”
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Despite the horrific conditions, darkness, lack of running water, and pending risk that comes with a life in the literal underground, Lee admitted she enjoys the unconventional lifestyle to her life before, and the feeling of community that exists there.
“It’s not as difficult as you might think, everybody’s really respectful,” she said. “Everybody’s good to each other, which I don’t think you find much (above ground). I’m happy, I have everything I need here…I think that those hardships build camaraderie. I feel like you make more genuine friends.”
Is the porn industry really all it’s portrayed to be?
So what would push someone to leave a seemingly glamorous, successful career in the adult film industry for a life of homelessness underground?
The answer to that question can’t be clearly determined, and is largely left to speculation. But Jenni’s story does imply—or at least make you think deeper—about the fact that life as a porn performer may not be as glamorous, healthy, or safe as the industry paints it to be.
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It may be easy for consumers to live in a fantasy that simply doesn’t exist—assuming the performers they watch in evergreen videos posted to a porn site are simply a consumable product with no backstory or brokenness of their own. They may forget that those people don’t only exist in that single moment of time they were filmed, but are real people with real lives and hardships.
Performers are often dehumanized, both by the porn industry and consumers who view their content. But the fact is, these are real people that life happens to—just like every living, breathing human on this planet.
Related: How Porn Can Hurt Consumers’ Empathy And Compassion
Consumers can never know if the person they’re watching on a screen happens be in dire circumstances, or the turn their life has taken since being filmed. Plus, the porn world makes it so consumers don’t have to care, because the fantasy shared online goes on unchallenged and accessible to be consumed over and over again—no matter where the performer ends up or what state their life is in.
Porn isn’t really a fantasy
So if it isn’t possible to know a performer’s circumstances or how they could be suffering, is it all truly a fantasy, or just a warped, exaggerated, and twisted abusive version of reality?
For this reason and many others—including the toll porn can take on the consumers themselves and on their relationships—the answer is that porn isn’t worth it. Clicks, views, and downloads simply aren’t worth the price that’s paid, and you can help stop the demand by refusing to consume and remembering that each performer is a real human being.
