Lebanese social media is deeply divided after a Lebanese-American porn starlet catapulted to the top of PornHub’s search chart.Although the Florida-based model, Mia Khalifa, 21, celebrated her rise in fame as an adult performer this week, her name became a source of controversy back in her home country.
Some tweets even threatened her life. “[Your] head will be cut soon inshallah,” read one. Another claimed she will be met with “Hellfire” for her actions.
Other critics were more cerebral, with one Lebanese feminist lamenting that Khalifa’s route to liberation was through sexual “exploitation.”
But her supporters were also quite vocal. One Lebanese blogger cheered on the success of a native-born adult performer at the same time that the local government cracked down on the business.
Khalifa defended herself as well:
Doesn't the Middle East have more important things to worry about besides me? How about finding a president? Or containing ISIS?
— Mia Khalifa (@miakhalifa) January 3, 2015
“@Muhammaad11: @miakhalifa You do realize that you'll be the first person in Hellfire right?” I've been meaning to get a little tan recently
— Mia Khalifa (@miakhalifa) January 3, 2015
In a Facebook post British-Lebanese author Nasri Atallah added: “The moral indignation… is wrong for two reasons. First and foremost, as a woman, she is free to do as she pleases with her body.
“Secondly, as a sentient human being with agency, who lives halfway across the world, she is in charge of her own life and owes absolutely nothing to the country where she happened to be born.
“For the record, I don’t think we should be particularly proud of Mia Khalifa, we should just be indifferent. She’s doing a job she chose, in a regulated industry, no different to banking.
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