Netflix is gearing up to release a documentary film about Pornhub, the controversial sex video platform that features user-uploaded content.
“Money Shot: The Pornhub Story” will debut on Netflix worldwide on March 15, 2023. The documentary, from Alex Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions, looks at the history of the internet’s most famous adult entertainment platform and the recent backlash against the site.
Pornhub changed how pornography is produced and distributed, enabling adult content creators to reach “a massive audience while the company made billions of dollars — but it also became embroiled in allegations including non-consensual material and trafficking on the site,” according to Netflix’s description of the film. “As anti-trafficking organizations seek justice for victims, can the online giant protect those from whom they profit, or is this a new wave of censorship for adult performers making consensual porn?”
Launched in 2007, Pornhub’s accounts on YouTube and Instagram have been shut down within the last six months for violating the respective platforms’ policies. That came after MindGeek, Pornhub’s parent, was sued by numerous plaintiffs who alleged that Pornhub has profited by distributing child pornography and nonconsensual sex videos. MindGeek has said the allegations lack merit and that it has “instituted the most comprehensive safeguards in user-generated platform history.”
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Last year, Visa and Mastercard cut off payment processing to TrafficJunky, the advertising arm of MindGeek that sells ads on Pornhub, after a federal court ruling last summer rejected Visa’s request to be removed from a case in which MindGeek is being sued for allegedly distributing child pornography. The plaintiff in that case alleged Visa knowingly facilitated MindGeek’s ability to monetize the illegal content.
“This documentary requires us to grapple with what sexuality and consent means when billion-dollar internet platforms thrive on user-generated content,” Suzanne Hillinger, director and producer of “Money Shot,” said in a statement provided by Netflix. “Who has, and who should have, the power in these environments? Our hope is that this film generates important conversations about sex and consent, both on the internet and out in the world.”
The film, with a 93-minute runtime, is executive produced by Stacey Offman and Richard Perello. Nicki Carrico serves as producer and Erin Edeiken is supervising producer; Iris Ng is director of photography and Alexis Johnson is editor.