Former Lebanese-American Internet porn star Mia Khalifa says that Muslims and jihadist groups, such as the Islamic State (ISIS), continue to send her death threats even though she has quit her porn career.
The now 23-year-old woman, who came to the U.S. from Lebanon when she was ten-years-old says that ISIS and other radical Muslims have sent her many threats, including gruesome mockup photos of her being beheaded, according to the Daily Mail.
Khalifa, who became a top-rated star on the Internet porn service Pornhub, says she was targeted in particular after posting a video showing her having sex while wearing a hijab.
In a recent interview, Khalifa said she will not bend to the terrorists’ will.
“[Y]ou can’t show weakness. That’s exactly what they’re looking for. I really try and just make it look like it rolls off, but I’ll admit, it gets to you after a while,” she said.
Khalifa, born to a Christian family in Lebanon, was widely criticized by Muslims when she first began participating in Internet porn films, with many accusing her of being a “disgrace” to her home country of Lebanon.
“They’re embarrassed I’m ‘claiming’ them – as if I had a choice. I was born there,” she once told Newsweek.
Muslim critics also attacked Khalifa for having the tattoos so easily seen during her porn movies. Specifically, her tattoo of the first words of the Lebanese national anthem drew the ire of many Lebanese critics.
Her brief porn career caused a lot of friction with her family, as well. In 2015, the porn star confided to Newsweek that her family had cut ties with her.
“Everybody from my second cousins to family friends to my parents’ friends know…it’s not something that’s going to be forgiven,” she said.
When her porn career became a major international controversy, Khalifa said she ultimately felt guilty for “dragging” her family into the whole mess. She insisted, “That was never my intention.”
But pornography is now behind her. Khalifa, which is not her real name, has started a new career doing sports coverage on her YouTube channel.
While she does not think she has yet transitioned into the “mainstream,” Khalifa is making a living from her new endeavor.
“But it hasn’t really felt like work, because this is me basically just being myself on the internet,” she told CBS. “My passions are D.C. sports, D.C. in general and I’m finally finding a way to make a living out of my passion, so it doesn’t feel like work.”
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.
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