Opinion/Editorial
UPDATE: here
I came across this story by Craig Gross from XXXchurch.com about meeting Houston recently. Houston has cancer and has started her blog helphoustonfight.blogspot.com trying to raise money to help pay her medical bills and daily expenses. She has insurance but still needs help to pay her bills.
From what I know, Houston has never once gone against the adult industry and never said how bad her experience was. I have asked around, including people that know Houston, and they say to their knowledge Houston has never said anything negative about her experience as a porn star or anything negative against the industry.
Now of course I sympathize with anyone battling cancer who is also raising a child. But I don’t feel a porn star who has been out of the adult industry for years, and to my knowledge never once went against the industry, should be accepting any money from anti-porn organizations. Anti-porn organizations like Craig’s XXXchurch.com and Shelley Lubben’s The Pink Cross foundations are suppose to be mainly to help the performers leave porn and to help them rebuild their lives after they leave.
I know insurance doesn’t cover all medical expenses but Houston has the insurance that so many millions of Americans never had because they could never afford it. She could reach out for help from any family she might have, friends, local Churches, and cancer groups. But not from XXXchurch.
Anti-porn organizations that help porn stars don’t get that many donors like the bigger more mainstream and more accepted causes. Helping porn stars isn’t high on many charity lists. So that’s why I feel the money would be better spent on helping the girls who are trying to leave porn now and helping them rebuild their lives after they leave. Houston has already been out of porn for years and to my knowledge never went against porn or her experience in it.
I was debating whether I should mention what Houston said on XXXchurch and give my opinion on it. But it’s already out there and I’m sure the mainstream porn press and forums will hear about it soon. I don’t care if Houston’s industry porn friends attack me for this. I’m already hated by many anyway. Some might think why am I making this public. But she is the one that made it public. So why attack me for making “public” what she herself made public.
I heard Tara from FreePornStarPix was harassed by Houston’s industry porn friends after she questioned if Houston actually had cancer or not. She later took down her story from her site. How would those people that attacked Tara now feel knowing Houston has suddenly attacked the industry they love so dearly?
Now the question I have is where did all the money that had been raised through her blog go? As of October, she had raised $3,200.79 from 80 contributors. Now it’s only $225 from 3 contributors. She has also gotten money from anti-porn organizations like XXXchurch which Craig states in a comment:
craig gross wrote on November 7th 08 at 10:35AM
Over $1500 has come in so far. Jeanette is going to get Kimberly a check this Sunday at church. Thanks to everyone for what you have done so far…Keep passing the post along.
Now anyone that knows me knows I will attack the industry when need be. But Houston never said anything negative about her experience while in the industry until now. Someone knowing what I’m about to publish had this to say:
I want to know where the money went. Why would she change the amounts? That is strange. Also where are her medical records? You should call City of Hope to see if she even had surgery there. I mean is it possible this is a scam or is there any proof? But of course we have to be very careful as if she does have cancer, we must be considerate of her situation. I was told she lives with her boyfriend in Los Angeles and yet she wrote she lives in Las Vegas. So not sure if she is just visiting or recovering from surgery or what. The thing is many of the girls have other illnesses and some form of cancer but they don’t ask for money online. They have nothing. They have no skills. And they certainly don’t use their porn star name to raise money either. I don’t know what to think but I think someone should question her intentions. I want to know why the money change and how much money she has received already and has she received state help or help from cancer organizations. There is a lot of help for cancer survivors.
So not only does Houston have insurance, but she also lives with her boyfriend. Which means he helps in living expenses and child care. Does Houston get child support from her child’s biological father? How much money did she raise by being on Howard Stern?
I don’t want people to think I’m a horrible person for questioning all of this. Far worse has been said on forums since Houston announced she has cancer. I have often been called anti-porn because I do criticize pornographers and the criminals running wild throughout the industry. But for someone who has been out of the adult industry for years, and to my knowledge and others never said anything negative about her experience, should not be accepting money from any anti-porn organization. That money would be better spent on the girls who are trying to leave porn now and trying to rebuild their lives. I’m sorry.
Houston’s story from XXXchurch.com is after the jump.
Craig Gross:
Porn Star Needs Help…LETS GO!
By Craig on Mon, Nov 3rd 08
Last week Jeanette and I had the great privilege to spend sometime with Kimberly formerly known as Houston. She lives in Vegas and I happened to be speaking at the church that she has been attending and we caught up shortly after that. Jeanette and I were both blown away by her story and want to share some of it with you all and give you a chance to respond. We don’t have all the exact needs in front of us quite yet but we want to do something for her. I asked her to write out some of her story for me and here is what she gave me today.
Almost everyone I know that has left the industry walks away with nothing. If you have heard Donny talk about this he says, you never plan for a rainy day in porn so you don’t save and plan on this money going away. Kimberly’s story is no different. She is trying to live a simple life and the bills are piling up because of the cancer and her loss of job. The money from porn is gone if you have not figured that out.
Most of you know we developed The Esther Fund to be able to help people like Kimberly. You can get more information on the Esther Fund here. We want to help meet some immediate needs and bills for Kimberly. We also want to help her get on her feet financially. We have accountability in place and do not just throw money out at people. We take this very seriously and both Jeanette and I can sense the sincerity in Kimberly. She mentioned to us that she would do whatever we needed to help spread the message of XXXchurch and help others. Before we think about having her help others we want to help her.
She has been on Howard Stern over 50 times and went on Stern earlier this year and talked about her fight with cancer. Stern helped her raise some money for medical bills but that money is now gone. Why let Howard Stern do, what the church should be doing. Please consider donating to the Esther Fund to help Kimberly.
We will keep you all up to date on this situation. We hope to introduce Kimberly to you real soon on-line with some videos or blogs or both. Keep checking back.
Thanks for reading this and please Keep Kimberly in your prayers. Pray for complete healing!
Craig Gross
Houston:
My story, upbringing and the problems I experienced are far too common. A family history of alcoholism and abuse and a personal history of alcoholism and drug abuse rarely lead to good things. You can walk into any strip club or porn set in the world and will find that 99% of the women have the same back story. Through hard work, bad luck and a lot of pain I was able to take porn to a whole new level. I achieved national and international success and experienced people, places and things most people only dream of.
Unfortunately, those incredible highs have also been offset by horrible lows, from medical drama to addiction, divorce, kids teasing my child and now cancer.
The world of porn is one that thrives on numbness typically created by drugs and alcohol. The more numb you are, the more you are willing to do. The more drunk and high you are, the crazier things you do and the more you get paid. It’s a vicious cycle. Case in point, I had sex with 620 guys in a single day. The event was a successful publicity stunt that won me an award for best selling video of all time. That, along with the other movies and crazy stuff I did catapulted me to the top of the adult world. I was so deep into porn that I just took the ball and ran with it, doing more and more outrageous things.
I was a single parent living in LA, supporting my daughter by doing bachelor parties, bikini contests and mud wrestling. At the same time I was also getting into mainstream acting, but not making it big fast enough. I was introduced to a porn agent and asked if I’d like to be in a porn video, they paid very well and I thought I had nothing to lose. That week the producer called me and asked me if I would like to be an exclusive contract girl for their company. They would pay me $10,000 a month for several films. I was so broke and struggling that there was no question in my mind. I didn’t think of anything but the fame and money, not God, disease, my family or anything.
By 2002, I was still living in LA. I had bought a home in the San Fernando Valley, I was a featured stripper for 32 weeks a year all over the world. I was surviving on methamphetamines to keep going and was a complete mess. I was still doing porn and basically killing myself. I had a nanny for my daughter who would take care of us both, I don’t know how she did it. She said she prayed for me all of the time.
By now ten years had gone by and I had become one of the biggest porn stars in the history of the adult industry. I was an empty shell full of hate and sadness and I felt totally alone. I contemplated suicide often and all the money in the world couldn’t make me feel happy or whole. By that time in my life I had by then been brought to my knees on several occasions, praying to God to not let me die this time. My heart would beat so fast that I know a couple times God stepped in and saved me.
I had enough and I knew couldn’t die and leave my daughter. I decided to sell the house and move as far away as I could afford from my druggie friends and porn. I retired after 10 years, having been inducted into the porn hall of fame. I thought “my daughter and I can move to Vegas and start a new life,” and that’s what we did. I couldn’t handle the fans and the people all over; I knew I would eventually overdose if I stayed in LA.
Later, I got my real estate license and was working for a home builder. I had been working for them for a couple of years, trying not to wear a lot of makeup, dying my hair brown and even gaining some weight as to not get recognized. In April 2008, I was fired on the spot. Someone in the corporate office recognized me. I was devastated, I worked so hard and was a great sales person. They said they just couldn’t have me on the front lines, even if that career was in the past.
That same month, I was diagnosed with stage III Melanoma Cancer. I was in complete shock, I never had a growth removed or any kind of skin issues. It was in my lymphatic system. In July, I had extensive surgery to remove several lymph nodes in both my right and left arm. I recovered for a month and then in August I was put on a drug [a form of chemo] for an entire month, intravenously, everyday. I now give myself injections at home three times a week for the remaining 11 months. It’s a year of treatment and the percentages of survival are not good… but my attitude is. Everyday I put on my armor when I get up. I will beat this demon, I have beat worse. I know that I am special and God is going to use me to help others. God has something for me that I can’t even imagine.
My story is one of hope, that people can change, that women and men in porn have a choice and they don’t have to be violated or exploit themselves in order to feel accepted and loved. There are people to help and love them unconditionally, to show them God is love. I am growing in God everyday and will continue to learn and grow in the church. I cannot change the past, but the past does not make my future. Everyone needs to know God is a loving God and He will love you.
I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior and vowed to never be a part of the world that I had lived in before. I have asked for forgiveness and know that I am worthy. My daughter has been attending a new church for 7 months and I started going about 4 months ago. It’s a wonderful church and we love it. I found out about XXXChurch there and wanted to get involved from the minute I found out about what they were doing. I want to help these girls see that they don’t have to go that route…and if I can do it, so can they.
The Messiah
November 10, 2008
If some fanbois want to chip in, who cares? I’m not paying. I would like to see some pictures first. Can you organize that, Darrah?
Darrah Ford
November 10, 2008
She shouldn’t be taking money from anti-porn organizations when to my knowledge and others that I have asked, Houston was never anti- porn or negative about her time in the industry. If people want to send her money, that’s one thing. But money from anti-porn organizations that is meant to help people leave porn shouldn’t be going to her when she was never anti-porn. She also has insurance and a boyfriend. She has much more than what many other porn girls have. And her porn friend harassed Tara. Now I find out she’s anti-porn. And what happened to the counter on her blog from all the previous donations?
The Messiah
November 10, 2008
I will answer all your questions, Darrah. If you get me some pictures of Houston’s tumours.
Steven Millan
November 10, 2008
Hasn’t Houston always said that she was always a church-going Christian(even during her reigning porn days) ?!
Otherwise,it’s strange to see that she’s now joined up with the anti-porners at XXXChurch and Shelley Lubben,for I’ll just never know why Howard Stern and Houston’s ex-teen prom date Brad never chipped in some of their own money(since Howard can easily afford it) in helping Houston out with her medical bills.
Sinnamon Love
November 10, 2008
It easy to make someone think that their previous actions/ life is the cause of all their current problems/ trauma when they are in a dire situation. That’s what this sounds like… she’s been convinced that being in porn, and everything that came with it was the cause of her cancer… and only God/ Jesus can save her. Thats so sad…
frog
November 10, 2008
I remember seeing something on this blog about Houston losing her house. Probably a small example of tho whole subprime mortgage foreclosure’s that started all the news about the current credit crisis. She convinced those people at XXXChurch that she legitimately needs help. Just because you don’t agree with the way they raise money doesn’t mean these people are stupid. You think Houston pulled an Obama on them and bamboozled them?
The lady is desperate. It makes you reconsider a lot of beliefs you held previously. The amount of cock she took up her pussy, I find it hard to believe she didn’t have severe mental reactions to it. She wasn’t a Vivid girl doing the easy stuff. Did you see how much plastic surgery she had had? She was working on the Michael Jackson look. It ain’t healthy things going on in your head motivating that much plastic surgery.
Anyway, that’s my first impression of it.
And no, I ain’t sending any money. I got my own expenses. Was never really a big fan of hers anyway.
The Messiah
November 10, 2008
You know what’s really sad? Doing porn since you were 20 and now hooking on BodyMiracle.
frog
November 10, 2008
I just looked at the pics you posted. You see how the end date for the two fund-raisers are different? I don’t think it’s necessarily that she’s hiding that she’s already raising money. She just went in and reconfigured something. There’s a progress bar on those pics. Maybe she raised all the money to fill up the prgress bar and still needed more?
In the first pic, all she raised was $3200. That could easily be spent on medical bills.
Roast Beef
November 10, 2008
She forgot to mention her addiction to plastic surgery. She had tons of it and even had half of her ample labia chopped off and sold it to some perv. If she didn’t spend so much money on that, she would’ve had more for her health care. {medical insurance anyone]?
While she was in the business, a lot of the other porn stars made fun of her freakish appearance and thought she was lying about her age and that she was a lot older than she claimed.
But, needless to say, I hope she beats her illness.
frog
November 11, 2008
I just read the FreePornStarPix story. Wow a lot of you people hate the XXX Church.
They bring up some Trinity James who took money from XXX Church, and then went back to porn after taking all that money to get out of porn. Sounds like a frivolous complaint to me. I know nothing about the XXX Church. But, the fact that their putting money into efforts that don’t always succeed… you think when you give money to charities for the poor that the poor don’t sometimes go buy liquor with it? You gonna stop giving money to the poor because of that?
Darrah Ford
November 11, 2008
I don’t have a problem with anti-porn organizations that raise money to help the porn stars that want and need the help.
Trinity James and her husband took the money but then complained they weren’t getting enough:
https://pornstarbabylon.wordpress.com/2008/08/01/two-parasites-cant-grow-up-and-take-responsibility-for-their-own-fucked-up-lives/
frog
November 11, 2008
Okay, so is your complaint being lodged against James and hubby or the XXX Church? My first impression is that it’s being filed against James and hubby the way you’ve worded your comment.
But, from looking at your blog post, James and hubby said this about the money they got from XXX Church:
Are you saying you don’t believe that XXX Church raised more money for them than was given to them?
Harvey Dent
November 11, 2008
For a woman to stop being a whore is like trying to stop being a drug addict, and many whores are in fact drug addicts.
“you think when you give money to charities for the poor that the poor don’t sometimes go buy liquor with it? You gonna stop giving money to the poor because of that?”
Right on Frog, would you stop giving money to organizations that help alcoholics and drug addicts because some of them relapse? No. Is the same for sex workers.
Rule N1 of she Survivors of Sex Industry Movement, never, never never give up on a girl who wants out. If a woman reach the point of her life were she decides that she only is worth to be used as a living masturbational tool for strangers for a fee, she usually has serious issues that need a lot of work to overcome. So even if she wants out, you can expect relapses.
As Heather Veitch told to Luke Ford whem Sophia Lynn relapsed in mid 2007, “I’ll never give up of her, even if I have to help get out of porn dozens of times”.
Harvey Dent
November 11, 2008
Of course the evengelicals can blame some of the heat on themselves for several reasons.
1. Their tendency to parade the girls around as some sort of big catch.
2. The fact that many preach the Eternal Security Doctrine that makes salvation an one time magical event instead of a lifelong struggle inside a communtiy of faith. So when a girl who was saved repased they said “Oh she was not really saved you know”.
Making the poor girl a laughing stock for the porners.
3. Many of them distrust science so they have this magical thinking that Jesus can overcome problems that are in fact mental illnesses.
Darrah Ford
November 11, 2008
I blame Trinity James mainly in that case. Both she and her husband had their hands out to Shelley and XXXchurch but then complained they weren’t giving enough. Then he whines that his mother was giving him and Trinity more than the church was. The money should not have been given to someone who has a husband where she and he could both get off their asses and get a job. Months later she has the nerve to get pregnant when she and the husband can’t take care of themselves. XXXchurch should not have given as much as they did when Trinity does have a husband that could also work. That money would have been better spent on a girl that really wanted out of porn and would be appreciative of the money. They also should not flat out hand out checks the way they did with Houston. They should pay a specific bill and not just blindly give away the money because they don’t know where it’s really going. I’ve heard many cases where the girl was given money when she said it was for one thing but it turned out to be the complete opposite.
Harvey Dent
November 11, 2008
Yeah, people giving money to drug addicts and PW should remember XPT rule of porn number one: WHORES LIE, so do their suitcase pimps.
You would not give money to a drug addict just because he is now “saved” and going to Church right?
But some of the evangelicals in the Surviors of Sex Industry Movement were doing that in the beginning and they were conned.
The fact is that the book in how to help women ot of the sex industry and stop being whores is just now beginnig to be written. And mistakes and painfull rewrittes are going to be made.
frog
November 12, 2008
Okay, I re-read that blog post on Trinity James, eyeballing your quotes of them with probably a lot more attention than it deserves.
Did you read what I quoted above? It was:
It sounds like the complaint about the money was based on the idea that more money was raised in Trinity & hubby’s name than was actually used on them. Do you think it’s okay for XXX Church to do that?
The rest of it, there is a lot of hard feelings, some of which Trinity & hubby only refer to vaguely about their being PR wars where they feel like they’ve been misrepresented. There is the one concrete example where they say something about the hubby being addicted to porn and the XXX Church told him to grow up.
To pick that they did give them some money and throw them against the wall for that sounds like serious nitpicking. If you cornered one of them on that one issue, I bet they would tell you that that was a way that the XXX Church was trying to be helpful and did offer some help. And, hubby does say in his blog post, ” i wish them luck and hope other people get more help than we did”, which is essentially wishing them well despite the hard feelings.
But, they’re blog posts your quoting isn’t about that one issue of how much money. It’s about how fucked up their life and their stupid fight with the XXX Church is on top of it.
Picking out that one issue and pointing out how fucked up they are is ridiculous. Do you think you’re some kind of maverick because you are looking at people who are telling you how fucked up they are, and you find something to rant about and call them fucked up yourself? I realize you’re just trying to draw lines around behavior as to what should be tolerated. But, picking out issues, from people who are telling you they are fucked up, makes you look evil. Demons taunt and laugh at people over their failings.
Yeah, Jenna Jameson and Jack Venice, run them up the flag pole. Jack is pleading innocent in what looks like an air tight rape case and Jenna just bought a $3M house and is trying to bilk fans out of ridiculous prices on t-shirts. But these are two people who are telling you their life is a disaster. Picking one issue and running around the play ground yelling about it, this just ain’t good.
Darrah Ford
November 12, 2008
I’m not the only one who thought the same way. They are two grown adults who could physically work but had their hands out to his mother and to two anti-porn organizations. She then ends up pregnant, they break up, and she’s escorting now. Read some of the statements by former porn stars given to Shelley Lubben and they were grateful for the help she provided. They didn’t complain asking give me more money.
frog
November 12, 2008
I don’t care what everyone else thinks. Go look at XPT for a study in how nobody wants to say what they think and everyone just walks around acting the same.
What was it about liquor and the poor that you don’t get?
Yeah, so? Maybe the other times XXX Church tried to help they had their act together better and all the drama didn’t happen? Maybe Trinity James and hubby was just a fuck up that doesn’t usually happen?
From reading their blog posts you posted, there was a lot more bickering than just about the money. They barely mention the money in those posts. That’s not what they’re complaining about.
They’re a disaster you’re picking a needle out of and running around poking them with it.
Harry
February 7, 2009
I was actually trying to get an update on her fundraising when I came across this interesting blog. It raises a few questions, some I also have and some I can answer, since I know/knew her a few years back. Houston/Kim rented a house, so the sub-prime crisis had nothing to do with her housing situation. I am guessing that the fluctuating dollar amounts on her fundraising site are because she sets “deadlines” for donations and it re-sets…not necessarily bogus, but you can see how convenient it is to shelter how much as been really raised. As for her medical records, I’m sure most of you realize those are private, and only she has the ability to provide authorization to have them released, so getting pics of tumors, records etc. probably not going to occur unless/until she is very desperate. As for insurance, I find it interesting how much money you folks think she has, and that she was/is either bright enough or wealthy enough to have medical insurance. My impression, based on our few interactions, was that she did really well for a few years, but during her prior years as a stripper and subsequent years as a feature dancer did not provide much money. Internet sales, appearance fees, etc. helped, but its not like Stern pays large amounts…guests get exposure in return for appearing, not tons of cash.
frog
February 7, 2009
Interesting.
This is something that comes up a lot in the comments. It doesn’t seem to take intelligence to know you need health insurance. But, lots of porn girls don’t have it. There’s a difference between intelligence and common sense. Most of these girls in porn just don’t seem to have common sense.
Anonymous
February 7, 2009
“Most of these girls in porn just don’t seem to have common sense.”
Bingo! I mean, to be a PW you must be a bit out of there right. Is like those people do not worry too much for their futures.
frog
February 8, 2009
Wow I really pulled out a knife on Darrah back on this post. I vaguely remember this. It was about the time I decided Darrah was completely fair game because she was attacking a few people. So, I hunched down with my knife in my hand, found this post where she was ranting about people who were on the way down and knew it, and just lurched and ran after her grabbing everything from her I could.
This must be what sinlinlin feels like.