Bree Olson’s Post-Porn Interview Is Just the Post–Mia Khalifa Balm We Need

In a grounded and refreshing counterpoint to Mia Khalifa’s repudiation of the porn industry last week, retired adult performer Bree Olson told The Daily Beast how “Hollywood is creepier than the porn industry.”

In a candid interview that returned to Olson’s post-porn life four years after their last talk, reporter Marlow Stern went in depth with the award-winning performer, cover model, and actor. While Olson has been critical of the adult industry in past interviews, particularly after her much-publicized relationship and falling out with Charlie Sheen, she looked back at her time in porn with what appears to be clearer hindsight this time around.

“There are no royalties in the porn industry,” she said — a fact which has never been a secret, but which internet media made much over after Mia Khalifa’s recent interview in which she revealed that she’d made only $12,000 on her handful of scenes.

But Olson, who was involved with the industry for much longer and who performed in nearly 300 scenes during her tenure, said that she made plenty of money despite the lack of royalties… and continues to do so. “I have rode off my name as hard as I possibly can, because why not? So, I’ve been my own business owner, can work from home and make my own hours,” she said.

Olson is grateful to the industry for getting her to where she is today. “I was in a really tough life circumstance, and because of the industry, I was able to get a house, I’m now building my second custom house, and I’ve traveled all over the world,” she told Stern. “It gave me growth that I truly believe I would not have found otherwise.”

In fact, she told The Daily Beast that her experience in porn was much better for her than her brushes with Hollywood. When asked about creepy Hollywood men during her time in porn, she said, “Oh, it was bad… I got with that actor [Charlie Sheen] and then my whole life fell under a microscope. I saw myself getting criticized on huge networks by huge reporters– who I’ve literally watched since I was a child — saying publicly that I would be a bad mother, that I’m not a good influence, and basically disgracing me because I was a porn star. In short, I left because of what everyone said on TV about me.”

But, she recalled, “Everything was fine in the porn industry though. Isn’t it funny to think about?” In porn, she continued, “Everyone is super-professional; nobody is trying anything weird.” 

It’s refreshing, to say the least, to hear a retired adult performer with positive things to say about the industry. Often, the internet likes to latch on to former actors who will play in to the media’s lust for eye-grabbing headlines and sob stories. But to hear Olson, who careened to stardom during her dubious relationship with Charlie Sheen during the height of his out-of-control meltdown in 2011, looking back fondly on her days in the industry? It’s a breath of fresh air we can all use after Mia Khalifa’s media blitz last week.