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Hot Girls Wanted: Turned On

It’s practically a given that the adult entertainment industry is a sexist one. However, porn’s relationship with race is a subject that’s rarely if ever explored. Episode 4 of Hot Girls Wanted: Turned On puts that relationship under a low-powered microscope, and the result, like so many things in this docu-series, is eye-opening.

“Money Shot” is primarily told through four protagonists with Riley Reynolds, an aspiring porn industry entrepreneur, holding the episode’s narrative together. Reynolds was featured heavily in the original documentary, Hot Girls Wanted. As he discusses the obstacles that come with launching a new site at such a competitive time, the documentary dives into a shoot between two of Hussie Models’ stars — the African-American Jax Slayer and the white Kylie Quinn. Both stars are relatively new to the industry, though Quinn is markedly younger, only having been in porn a little over three months, and both bring a nervous energy to the episode. However, the focus is quite literally on Slayer, who is Hot Girls Wanted’s first look into the life of a male porn star. Footage of Reynolds and the director pushing the actor to his physical extremes is intercut with interviews about his experience in the industry. “Porn isn’t what it seems. It really is a job. It is work,” he says at one point. The documentary then transitions to a title card, explaining that female performers often get a premium for working with African-American talent. It’s a shocking fact as well as a racist reality that is explored through “Money Shot’s” fourth subject, Tyler Knight.

Knight, whose interviews bookend the 38-minute episode, is an industry legend. The adult film star has starred in everything from Star Trek porn parodies to a mature version of Little Red Riding Hood. Seeing the racism of the industry through the star’s experienced eyes adds an important note of validity to the documentary.

“We literally get reduced to our lowest common denominator to appeal to the lowest common denominator. They want to see a ripped black guy with, you know, an innocent little cheerleader,” Knight said. “Porn is the last bastion of American industry where it is OK to not be hired for something specifically because of your race or your outward appearance. And it’s perfectly fine.”

Slayer and Knight’s takes on the success of interracial porn are powerful in how frank they are. However, though these discussions are certainly the most powerful revelation of “Money Shot,” it’s far from the episode’s only surprising moment. Keeping the male talent excited is a major struggle during shoots. Both male stars recount days when they had to stay erect for up to six hours, and both admit to using pills to boost their performance. At one point, the entire shoot grinds to a halt as both Reynolds and the director wait for Slayer to finish. It’s a deeply uncomfortable moment to watch, though the scene likely encompasses only a fraction of the awkwardness Slayer experiences on a near daily basis.

For all of the complicated topics “Money Shot” tackles, the episode may be the most honest of the Hot Girls Wanted series. From Slayer and Knight’s frank depictions of industry racism to the way Reynolds’ father criticizes his son’s work, Episode 4 of Turned On is honest in a way that hurts. However, it’s Reynolds who sums up what can perhaps be called a theme of the entire series when he says, “Everyone who does porn, it’s because of the money.”