‘Literal porn': Horror as graphic Bonnie Blue doco airs on TV

News.com.au

6 days ago

A major TV network has defended its decision to air a documentary about controversial porn star Bonnie Blue after viewers labelled it 'literal porn'.
Channel 4, a British free-to-view TV station, premiered '1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story', in the UK on Wednesday evening.
But the 1-hour doco, which details the troubling tale of the 26-year-old as she has sex with 1057 men in 12 hours, has been met with widespread criticism for being 'jaw-droppingly graphic' from viewers.
Now Channel 4 has hit back at critics, arguing the pornographic content is compliant with local broadcasting codes.
'The explicit content in the documentary is editorially justified and provides essential context; making pornographic content is Bonnie's job, and this film is about her work and the response to it,' the broadcaster said, according to LADbible.
'Crucially, the content is presented in a non-gratuitous manner and viewers will be alerted of the sexual content in a program warning at the start to ensure they understand from the outset the nature of the program.
'The program was broadcast after watershed and is compliant with the Ofcom broadcasting code.'
But it has done little to quell the outrage online, with some labelling the documentary – billed as delving 'behind the headlines, clickbait and rage bait to discover what life's really like in Bonnie's wild orbit' – as 'grubby' just seconds in.
'Channel 4 has sunk a new low. Why is there a documentary on Bonnie Blue? Why are they trying to normalise her behaviour on national television?' one asked on X.
'This #bonnieblue documentary is absolutely depressing... I feel like I'm losing my mind watching this,' mused another.
As one raged: 'Channel 4 you are truly disgusting for airing a documentary about Bonnie blue in any way shape or form. Genuinely disappointing how that woman is allowed a platform of any sort.'
Others said the doco, that makers said 'explores the central question polarising debate about her: Is she a 'dangerous predator', pandering to male fantasies and perpetuating the patriarchy? Or an empowered, sex positive, businesswoman having the last laugh?', failed to answer its own probing questions.
The film also features multiple scenes of Blue – whose real name is Tia Billinger – and various men engaging in graphic sexual acts.
She's also shown completely nude at times and as well as while shooting adult videos with other porn stars.
As a result, many branded the film 'disturbing', 'sickening' and 'degrading', arguing it should never have been shown on TV.
During the doco, Blue is reportedly seen preparing for her most notorious stunt by buying '1,600 condoms, 50 balaclavas, numbing lube'.
It's not just the stunt itself, along with the doco, that has sparked outrage, with Blue's extreme approach to filming adult content regularly attracting widespread criticism.
Dr Charlotte Proudman, a family lawyer, said: 'The language Bonnie uses around being 'tied down, gagged and choked' for public consumption directly mirrors some of the most violent forms of abuse I see survivors disclose in courtrooms.'
Others challenged Blue's suggestion that she is a 'feminist', stating her normalisation of 'degrading' porn is 'worrying'.
One thing's for sure, her reign on OnlyFans has come to an end, with the subscription platform popularised by sex workers banning Blue after she announced she was hosting a 'petting zoo' – where she was set to be tied up in a glass box 'like a zoo animal' for anyone of legal age to join her.
A spokesperson for OnlyFans said 'extreme 'challenge' content is not permitted on the site,' stating it goes against its 'Acceptable Use Policy and Terms of Service'.
'Any breach of our Terms of Service results in content or account deactivation,' the spokesperson told The Sun last month.
The move has bought an abrupt end to her mammoth earnings on the platform and also ended her long-time friendship with Gold Coast sex worker Annie Knight, famously dubbed 'Australia's most sexually active woman'.
The former marketing executive told news.com.au last week their friendship turned sour after Blue went on a media rampage after her 'horrifying' sex event was canned, during which time she seemingly took a swipe at Knight.
Taking aim at OnlyFans, Blue claimed the platform 'took unprecedented action' to punish her for 'making content, while multiple other creators are mimicking my entire marketing techniques and events'.
'The only difference is, I don't cry and I don't vlog hospital journeys. I just keep smiling,' she fumed, referring to Knight's recent hospitalisation for an endometriosis flare up.
It was a 'stab in the back' for Knight who ultimately decided it was time to cut the British sex worker out of her life.
'I'd spoken to her just a week prior and everything was fine and then she got banned from OnlyFans and the next thing I know, she's badmouthing me online, using my health issues against me and trying to get me banned as well,' Knight told news.com.au.
'Her ship was going down and she tried to pull down as many people with her as possible, that's something I would absolutely never do.
'She tried to take credit for other people's careers and insinuate that people copied her, namely me. It's a huge stab in the back.'
Knight said she had been growing increasingly concerned about the direction Blue's content was going in, noting that 'consent' and 'respect' are at the forefront of her own videos.
'I think the derogatory nature of the 'petting zoo' was horrifying. It opened the floodgates for abuse and other horrible things to occur. It was a line I wouldn't even dream of crossing,' the 27-year-old, who is originally from Melbourne, explained.
'I think at the end of the day our morals are completely different. Consent is so important and it has always been important that I convey that in my content.
'Sex is meant to be enjoyable for both parties and that's the most important thing for me to educate people on.'
Prior to this, the pair had filmed c ontroversial Schoolies content with 'barely legal' young men, both in Australia and in Fiji where their tourist visas were abruptly cancelled over the stunt.