Sasha Grey on Leaving Porn and Approaching Everything as Art

Actress, musician, and photographer Sasha Grey certainly didn’t take the traditional path to fame. Best known as one of the adult-film industry’s biggest banner names, Grey made a huge splash in the porn world almost immediately after filming her first scenes at the age of 18. Five years later, Grey has officially stepped away from the X-rated side of on-camera appearances, focusing instead on traditional acting, modeling, experimental music (with her band aTelecine), and photography. Along the way, she starred in Steven Soderbergh’s The Girlfriend Experience, picked up a recurring role on Entourage, posed for Terry Richardson, featured in videos by the Smashing Pumpkins and the Roots, and modeled for American Apparel.

In our exclusive interactive video interview, Grey discusses her debut photo book, Neü Sex&, her upcoming “black metal” film, the idea of porn as performance art, and what art form she wants to tackle next.

In the Flavorpill Interactive Interview Series, you control the questions. Just select the one you want answered in the player below, and click for an instant response.

For more Sasha Grey, visit her official website, become a fan on Facebook, follow her on Twitter, and buy a copy of her new book.

Also be sure to check out more Flavorpill Interactive Interviews with Morgan Spurlock, Moby, Theophilus London, and others.

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[...] FLAVORWIRE Interactive Interview VIDEO “Five years later, Grey has officially stepped away from the X-rated side of on-camera appearances, focusing instead on traditional acting, modeling, experimental music (with her band aTelecine), and photography.”- Flavorwire [...]

[...] Grey is leaving porn. It’s news to me after one of my lovely readers (<3 TJ) linked me an interview from Flavorwire where Ms. Grey briefly comments on her departure from porn while discussing her plans for the [...]

Hey Christian - I understand where you'e coming from but I don't blame the woman for the choice she's made. I blame the consumer. With anything as long as there is a market there will be a supplier. I actually think porn stars and ex-porn stars need to be very careful about what they say about the porn industry at any time in their lives. I don't think it is an industry you want to make enemies in. Sasha made the choice to do porn so that's fine but for everyone of her, there are many who feel they had no choice to make money and they feel trapped. Aso, I just don't get where someone's headspace could be to do the double anal and vaginal penetration or dress up like a little kid to have sex with an 'older' male for the fantasy of men. Plus all that DNA floating around in your innards - I don't care how much testing they do - that simply makes me want to run for the hills when I think about the ghost DNA floating around. Plus just the emotional. We take men into the warmth of our bodies and accept them into us. It is a very powerful thing for them and an insistent need they have and we treat it like it's a sunny day at the beach. Not to be taken seriously at all. Also, the consumer that wants to watch this stuff? I don't understand the headspace the consumer has to be in as well to watch a woman be gang raped anally and vaginally. Maybe I'm the last of a dying breed but I don't see sex as being mere fluffy stuff for the general populations entertainment. I think it's serious business and that eventually we will see the long term consequences of this satuaration.

Well at least Sasha Grey had the balls to do things that other people are afraid to do. She is an artist and she is expressing herself. If this is how she chooses to express herself, then so be it. She was a pornstar, so what! She is a human being and deserving of respect! So you call her a Hoe, at least she is an educated hoe that is actually going places that you seem to can't reach. I wish her good luck! Because the entertainment industry is rough.

I don't dislike Sa=sha Grey, I don't think shes a stupid person, I actually don't disprespect her for going into the porn industry. But i'm still a little confused as to why she quit? I still don't understand why she quit porn

I think she should stop making as if she's artistic, get extra large breast implants put in(she has no breasts), stop reading to children( she can read??) And continue doing something she knows how to do (spread her legs and gyrate). She will always just be a pornstar.

@christian Even if she did all those things before, she's still a person. So learn how to respect. And shouldn't you be happy for her since she stopped doing porn? That is a big change that I really admire.

@christian it's too cute seeing ppl who don't get sarcasm and talk like the all-knowing purest soul. :) thanks for being around.

@christian we understand... you are one of those that watch porn only to be aware of the evil out there. may the gods bless you.

no its not a sad day its a just a normal day, plus she sucks ass

This is a sad day for the adult industry. She was one of the best.. Hopefully, we will see her on Entourage's new season this summer

idk how the fuck am i a mysogynistic when were talking about a pornstar. how the fuck u respect a pornstar= hoe , i respect clean women . not hoes so dont give me that shit.

i hate hoes not women get that straight

wow im not even close to that. and thank u otis

He's trying to say you're a misogynistic dickhead, basically

what u trying to say? by saying people like me are the reason why we need people like sasha grey

@christian ... and now that you know about her past in porn (PiP) [we love acronyms] you feel empowered to call her "a bitch that doesnt deserve respect"? As said earlier: people like you are the reason why we need people like Sasha Grey. [I am not an associate of Sasha Grey's. I don't know her and she doesn't know me either]

i mean i just wanted to know who she was because i heard someone say she was a pornstar and i didnt believe them but now i do. and whats your name?

im just wanted 2 know who she was because i heard someone say she was a pornstar and i didnt believe them but now i do.

@christioan so the reason for you to check out the interview + post comments on this site is that you don't care about her? ok....

anyway i dont even care about this bitch sasha so she can do porn or art watever the fuck she wants. justtalking.not who are you?

i dont know wtf u just said but ok....

@ummmm "btw, this idea that “adult performers that deserve the name don’t have sex on camera. They engage in something that looks like sex”…. that’s a nice opinion/perspective, but they *are* having sex, actually. sure you can abstract it if you want into something deeper and nore meaningful and it prolly is… but plenty of them are having actual real sex….so don’t get that? you’re just saying that the distinction is important as it feeds her current art? well, yes…. obviously!" I'll try to explain but only Sasha Grey would know if I get it right. DM? For most people "having sex" is about having fun with another person by having sex. Lots of adult performers get into the business thinking gosh that's easy money since they love having sex (or they love the attention. Or they need the $$$). I believe Sasha Grey took a different approach a) by making very clear that for her adult performing is work not fun and b) it's about managing to express yourself in an environment that is constrained in certain ways. Both statements seem very odd if you see her talking about "being a superslut" etc but that's business talk. Watch 9-5, watch some of the behind-the-scenes footage and pay attention to how she manages to interact with the viewer even while she's deep-throating like her life depends on it. Yes, on one level she's having sex (the level that most guys see) but on another level it's just a certain type of work (that's why they talk about performing not acting) and mastering that type of work. Note I am not saying she was creating art when performing (and there were some silly statements in the 'postmodern' interview) but perhaps an art of performing? Sadly NEU SEX doesn't really address this topic.

wait im the reason for what?

what is that suppose to mean?

@christian Great post! People like you are the reason why we need people like Sasha Grey.

really people u guys would respect this bitch, wtf? this bitch doesnt deserve respect idk why is she trying to do something not related to porn now, she is so late took her 5 yeaars to actually do something other than sex. wow sasha grey your cool(sarcastic).

She is so beautiful!! I would marry her but she had too much dick already : ( I think she is as hot as Vanessa Hudgens and Meagan Fox, but I don't think she will ever have their success due to the way she started her career.

well, i didn't say everyone i said 'people.' i mean i never heard of her before... but a quick google reveals a LOT. she did evvvverything (though i'm no adult performing expert either, i admit!). then it really becomes hard to divorce a porn / adult performing background in my mind, especially when her book like you say, is about the 'gaze' blah blah. she didn't just dabble in porn, she was like, the next jenna jameson! she was the best! which is part of what makes her and what she has to say potentially so interesting, to me (she also plays an escort in some film, or some fictionalized version of herself... and plays herself in entourage... not like she playing scarlet fucking o'hara or something :)). btw, this idea that "adult performers that deserve the name don’t have sex on camera. They engage in something that looks like sex".... that's a nice opinion/perspective, but they *are* having sex, actually. sure you can abstract it if you want into something deeper and nore meaningful and it prolly is... but plenty of them are having actual real sex....so don't get that? you're just saying that the distinction is important as it feeds her current art? well, yes.... obviously! BUT my original point/gripe was she just seemed a little pretentious / lazy in the interview, like ok, i'm an adult-performer-turned-blah-blah now, so i whatever i say is substantial. i approach everything as art!!!! just like adult performing! except i dont speak about that anymore! her answer about relationships in the industry was so disapointing. none of her answers to the q's were too riveting, imo. maybe she rocks it in other interviews, you're right, i haven't, like, researched her in-depth. i'm sure her book is good. it took effort and it's a statement and that in itself is cool. i think the entourage cameo is funny and was obviously a great platform for her. kudos for obvs being more than a pretty porn star i just didn't get the interview and was hoping for more that would make me a fan... whatever. :) oh vice magazine is just publishing her book. i like vice and all but i was poking fun of the fact that of course they are publishing it, it's right up their alley: (former) adult performer turned deep edgy photographer. lol. they couln't not publish it and prolly would publish anything that had similar markings... but don't want to get into it about vice!! bottom line, in my mind anyone doing anything that is making any sort of statement is amazing and more than most do and i never contribute to these bloggy things but for some reason i was moved. now lets all log the fuck off and go make some fucking art!!!!!!

love love me do you know i love you wont please please please love me do!

Just for some background information this fascinating March 2009 quote of Sasha Grey's: "I don’t see a division of having a porn and mainstream career like 97% of people probably do, I see this as living my life to it’s fullest potential." http://www.antiquiet.com/interviews/2009/03/sasha-grey/ In her March 2011 porn career vale on facebook she said "It’s become quite evident that my time as an adult film performer has expired. [...] It was simply the perfect time for me to move on... while I was on top (pun indeed, intended). Life sometimes takes us in a direction we never could have imagined."

@ummmmm interesting that you mention "everytime [Sasha Grey] talks about her ‘art’ – or about anything – people imagine a huge cock in her mouth, ass etc. – talented and slutty!" I don't (at least not to that extent;) which might be due to the fact that FIRST I learned about her and THEN I paid attention to a few of her movies [you might guess that porn as such isn't a major interest]. Some of Sasha Grey's interview statements regarding performing (not: acting) in the adult industry opened my mind to the perspective that adult performers that deserve the name don't have sex on camera. They engage in something that looks like sex and that people may interpret as sex which is interesting since the same people tend to understand that someone murderering on screen isn't actually murdering someone: it's staged. Which means that adult performers that understand this do have something interesting to say about what's happening on camera + the gaze + (reverse) objectification + mind fucks + ways to fight back. I for one hope that Sasha Grey isn't losing that edge (and that is wasn't mere name dropping). In the long run I certainly expect to see some 'intellectual' contributions to keep me interested in the Sasha Grey phenomenon. ummmmm would you mind explaining the vice mag reference?

"Sasha Grey did what any real artist does times 100, she went and did what pays the bills till your art can do it." Her art and perspective seem very much based on her past career and hence wouldn't exist w/o it, - indeed wouldn't be seen w/o it - so that doesn't make much sense. maybe she planned to become a porn star in order to be taken seriously as a "real" artist. my hunch is it was much more organic than that. i salute her either way - i really do. i guess i just thought (as justtalking's well-played comment attests) that her actual words, and way of portraying herself in the interview, kinda betray her supposed validity (i.e. validity above and beyond a barely legal super hottie riding the coatails of the fact that everytime she talks about her 'art' - or about anything - people imagine a huge cock in her mouth, ass etc. - talented and slutty! how perfectly charming!!! how perfectly vice magazine!! who is of course publishing her book) "you just can’t deepthroat as good as she can." lol... not everyone's a porn star *or* an artist, but that a damn silly assumption! :)

If I was Sasha's PR agent I'd advise to be smarter about generating publicity. There was nothing new in this interview, nothing edgy, nothing that would make her interesting, and referencing her facebook page instead of answering the porn question was plain stupid. Having said this I believe there is something beyond the pretty face, and that something needs time to develop. After all she is just 23yo and spent the past few years in an industry that is very taxing and at the same time not exactly known to be intellectually stimulating. The question is whether her fairly obvious attempt to cut free from her (past) career as an adult performer doesn't come too early or just too abrupt. Not in terms of losing fans that are only interested in her adult performances which may be the price to pay at some point but in terms of authenticity: if she tried to see her career in the adult industry indeed as 'performance art', many (including myself) are left wondering why she pursues so many new arty directions but abandoned her 'performance art'? There are lots of good reasons for quitting the adult industry among them that performing in adult movies like Sasha did for several years is exceptionally hard work, both psychologically and physically. I'd recommend watching the documentary 9-5 Days in Porn(*) if you haven't thought about this aspect of the adult industry. Watch out for the scene involving a baseball bat. Anyway a more interesting way to utilize the opportunity of a "post-modern interview" (I pledge to abandon any hope beyond 'pretty face' if Sasha wasn't grinning when coming up with that line) would have been to use it to make fun of movies she starred in where viewers are also 'in control' just like they are in this interview. Well, this got longer than intended so I'll stop now. At some point I'll write up my thoughts about (the relative importance of) NEU SEX so watch out :) Happy to take any questions. Oops. (*) 9-5 was actually the first time that I ever heard of Sasha Grey.

Buncha pansy ass fake artist wannabes. What, you don't know any ass-kissers? huh? a lil dick suckin in the office goes a long way huh? stfu u bitches. Sasha Grey did what any real artist does times 100, she went and did what pays the bills till your art can do it. And all you haters are doing it, you just can't deepthroat as good as she can. fukn posers...

fact of the matter, open orifices and getting doused with semen is what got her anywhere near on the culture radar in the first place, remember that Sasha, you had to be a ho first (the easy route) before you got ANYWHERE, kinda pathetic way to start one's path into any sort of real art

she doesnt seem entirely idiotic, and good for her (why not) for being confident (arrogant?) enough to desire recognition from her 'art' and for putting it/herself out there... but jeez, pretentious much???? she really (unfortunately) kind of *is* a porn star and a pretty young face first .. again good for her, if that is how she expresses herself... but why flavorpill, her and everyone else taking her so seriously???? i mean..... i have better conversations about art with randoms in bars.... and i'm no artist btw... but yeah... i don't super get it. go figure.

i like sasha grey alot... i respect every one on wat they do ... sasha grey u r smart.. intelligent ,, beautiful ,,, n there r alot of people who loves u ,, including me :)

I do think you say this because she's a porn star. I could name at least a dozen or so 'celebrities' that don't have half her edginess and depth as an artist. At least she's not pretending to be more then she is.

i think she is smart, but she thinks she's smarter than she really is. instead of a book with photos by a 23 year old girl, i'd rather get a book by a real photographer.

She thinks she is extremely deep and edgy and smart, but she is not. And I am not saying that because she is a porn star, if there was a porn star who actually was smart and artistic, I would respect him or her. But Sasha Grey is not. She doesn't present herself to be at least.

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  1. [...] Grey is leaving porn. It’s news to me after one of my lovely readers (<3 TJ) linked me an interview from Flavorwire where Ms. Grey briefly comments on her departure from porn while discussing her plans for the [...]

  2. [...] FLAVORWIRE Interactive Interview VIDEO “Five years later, Grey has officially stepped away from the X-rated side of on-camera appearances, focusing instead on traditional acting, modeling, experimental music (with her band aTelecine), and photography.”- Flavorwire [...]