Kanye West’s Porn Moment: What the Rap Icon’s XXX Co-Sign Means for the Adult Industry

Porn’s the vice people love to hate—and that’s become increasingly apparent with the steady stream of celebrities calling attention to it. The remarks are often derogatory, such as when Saturday Night Live cast member Pete Davidson referred to porn stars as “terrible people” who are only good for swallowing cum, or when Fox News’ Tucker Carlson repeatedly branded Stormy Daniels’ attorney Michael Avenatti a “creepy porn lawyer.”

Not this time.

Porn just landed the endorsement of a century: Yeezy’s blessing.

Nearly a month after Kanye West said “I still look at Pornhub” during an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, the notorious rapper/designer appeared at the first annual Pornhub Awards in downtown Los Angeles. Billed as creative director, West not only hosted the show but added his own fashionable touch to the women on stage by outfitting the Pornhub Awards presenters in his Yeezy brand. Sure, one of the presenters was naked except for high heels, but that’s what you call art, right?

New Yeezy merchandise was making the rounds that night, both at the awards and on West’s Twitter, along with rumors that the women depicted on the limited edition long-sleeve shirts weren’t asked ahead of time. The shirts featured five porn stars artistically—and somewhat crassly—rendered in a modernist style, along with their respective award-winning categories like “nicest tits” or “hottest female ass.” (West later mysteriously deleted his tweets of the $75 shirts and removed the items from his Yeezy Supply online store.)

Kendra Sunderland, who skyrocketed to fame as the Oregan State Library Girl for her on-campus strip tease and then some, was one of the five women Yeezy featured—and she was just as surprised as the rest of us. “I didn’t find out until I was at the awards and someone grabbed me to come downstairs after I presented,” says Sunderland. “They gave me a T-shirt to put on and take pictures with and I thought it was really cool to see that he did it. Later I realized he only picked five girls and five awards for it.”

At the time, Sunderland didn’t think about payment. She recalls feeling a sense of honor having been one of the five chosen ones and was thrilled just to keep the shirt of herself she’d posed in. Luckily, she ended the night with more than one shirt thanks to some of the people that left them behind at the Vixen after-party.

Sunderland’s excitement to be included without any mention of further payment is par for the course in pornland. Royalties are a rarity in the adult industry, so much so that performers have been conditioned to accept that companies will use their likeness without offering any additional pay. Women in the industry are often especially grateful for any mainstream recognition that helps ease the occupational stigma, even if it means yet another company will profit from their work more than they do.

“I didn’t know anything about it until after the awards. I thought it was cool just to be on the shirt,” says Sunderland. “I gained a lot of [Twitter] followers after that.” In the trade-off between payment and fame, the latter often win’s out, as gaining new followers equates to a rapidly-expanding consumer fan base. And to be a profitable porn star these days, it’s all about sales.

Despite some of the whispers about the women on Yeezy shirts being exploited without pay, Sunderland sets the record straight. “There were a lot of people hating on it and questioning if we got royalties but all five of us were just grateful to have it in the first place,” says Sunderland. “They finally contacted us about it [after the awards], offering a percentage of the sales. It was one of Kanye’s people. They got my number from Pornhub to contact me about it.”

Pornhub was reached for comment but did not answer if the women featured on the shirts were given advance notice, however a spokesperson provided The Daily Beast with the following statement: “The girls were all on board with this and will receive 10% of the revenue generated from sales of the shirts with their image.” Still, it seems surprising that the women featured on Yeezy’s shirts wouldn’t have been asked first.

Though she was featured on his shirts, Sunderland didn’t have much contact with West and didn’t even know he was there when she first arrived with Greg Lansky, the high-end porn director/entrepreneur behind the adult studios Blacked (a favorite of West’s), Tushy and Vixen . “I didn’t see him until he was on stage. I know he was downstairs with Greg [Lansky] but I’d gotten there late and was socializing with everyone,” says Sunderland. “He’s been talking to Greg and they might collaborate on some things together. I’m not shooting a lot anymore but if it’s a special project I’d consider it. Greg’s mentioned my name to him.”

From Sunderland’s perspective, Kanye West’s involvement in the adult industry may be the catalyst porn’s been waiting for.

“He stands for spreading love and positivity,” says Sunderland. “Kanye is a great person and a creative artist. I think he can make people see porn as art, which is why it’s so great that he’s working with Greg [Lansky], because Greg always advocates this as a form of art and us as artists.”