Mia Khalifa has opened up on the moment she realised she had to leave behind ‘normal life’ after becoming ‘accidentally infamous’ when she starred in a controversial porn video.
Now 31 years old, Khalifa became an overnight adult industry star after she starred in a controversial film where she was wearing a hijab while performing sexually explicit content.
Khalifa, originally from Lebanon, was sent death threats after the video went viral, and the Islamic State even photoshopped an image to show her being beheaded.
The video polarised opinion, but also inadvertently made Khalifa become one of the biggest stars on PornHub, with her name the most searched-for on the adult content platform.
Recording only a few more pornographic films, Khalifa left the adult industry just three months after making her debut. Despite retiring in 2014, she was the most searched adult star in 2016 and 2018, showing the impact she had on the online world.
Fast-forward to 2024, and she has made millions on OnlyFans, making an estimated $6.2 million (£4.6 million) a month from her posts.
But it wasn’t that easy, Khalifa revealed in a recent interview with The New York Times.
Speaking to the US paper, the OF star explained the moment she realised ‘normal life’ for her was over.
And it wasn’t a nice experience by any means.
Mia Khalifa has been open about her experience in porn (TikTok/@officiallouistheroux)
“I was working at a law office. Anyone who would come in, there would be whispers in the waiting room,” Khalifa said.
“I started to feel like a distraction — and uncomfortable. That’s when I realised, this isn’t going to change. This isn’t going to get better.”
On top of this, she said that her female colleagues changed their approach, while the men treated her like a ‘zoo animal’.
She said: “I don’t like the women that I work with looking at me a certain way, and I especially don’t like the men looking at me in a certain way because it’s like a zoo animal.
Khalifa says she was looked at like a ‘zoo animal’ after going back to her day job (Edward Berthelot / GC Images)
“So I reopened social media, and I decided to try to be an influencer and a public person if that was the fate that I had sealed for myself.”
On the viral porn film that made her a worldwide name, Khalifa says she was ‘pressured’ to perform in it, with the video ‘exploiting the fact that I was Arabic and spoke Arabic, and I went through with it’.
She said: “Not long after, I would say maybe a couple hours after it premiered, the avalanche started. Every news outlet picked it up, and everybody had an opinion.
“I was completely out of control of my image, my reputation. I feel like a lot of people have slutty phases when they’re 20, 21. Unfortunately, mine was in 4K.”
She has made millions since quitting porn (Instagram/@miakhalifa)
The experience of the adult industry impacted her mental health, Khalifa revealed when speaking to Louis Theroux for The Louis Theroux Podcast on Spotify.
“The reason I used to have a lot of trouble talking about it is because I was extremely clouded by shame,” Khalifa said. “I used to have a visceral reaction to even hearing the name Mia and knowing that if someone is calling me by that name, they are seeing me in a way that I don’t want to be seen in.
“But that had a lot more to do with my mental health than it does about the bigger picture of things. I think that nine years of therapy is a lot and it’s not because of what I went through in the industry.”
Featured Image Credit: Marco M. Mantovani / Getty Images / Edward Berthelot / GC Images
Topics: Adult Industry, Mia Khalifa, PornHub, US News,
After struggling financially in her native country, she transitioned to a career creating adult content with thousands of people subscribing to her OF platform.
Molly’s career now also includes shooting mainstream pornography, and she has said it has given her son and herself a ‘comfortable’ life.
She added that she ‘doesn’t care what other people think’ either.
“As a single mum I was struggling to get employed and a lot of people said to me – ‘hey, you should do OnlyFans‘,” Molly said.
“I really didn’t know much about it, so I was going in very blindly and I didn’t really know what to do. Then eventually I just kind of thought, well, you know what? I’m in Los Angeles. I’m already shooting porn on my OnlyFans, I may as well start shooting mainstream porn.
Molly Manning moved from Australia to the USA to embark on a career in the adult industry (PR image)
“I probably should have done it sooner, but I was too worried about what other people thought. I’ve only got one life and I’m comfortable with myself, my son’s comfortable, so I don’t care what other people think.”
With Molly being a single mum, she says paying her bills and supporting her son financially matters the most, asking people to think twice before questioning or judging her.
Being active within the porn industry has meant that Molly takes a less mainstream approach to sex education in her own home that she shares with her teenage son.
That includes walking around without any clothes on while her son is at home. She’ll even have chats with him while in the nude.
Molly started on OnlyFans before entering the more mainstream porn industry (PR supplied)
Explaining why she does this and why she believes it is a normal thing to do, Molly said: “I’m very comfortable with my sexuality. I’m the kind of person who doesn’t have a problem occasionally walking around naked.
“My son will have a conversation with me and I’ll be topless or getting dressed; just because I’m naked doesn’t mean it’s sexual, that’s the viewers’ mentality.
“I’m very liberal in regards to nudity and there’s nothing sexual about me being naked at home.”
Molly added: “The reality of it is, if a child can’t see a naked female or male at home and that be their first point of reference for nudity, then there’s something wrong.
“I mean, if a child is having to look online to see a nude body, then I think there’s something wrong, because there’s a very good chance it will be a super sexualised image.”
Mia Khalifa fans defend her against trolls criticising outfit she wore speaking at Oxford Union
Mia Khalifa fans have defended the star after trolls ripped into the outfit she wore at the Oxford Student Union.
Taking to Instagram, the porn legend shared a series of snaps from her recent visit to the prestigious university and said how ‘honoured’ she was to be there.
The 30-year-old praised Oxford for allowing a ‘diverse list of speakers’ at the union.
“Yesterday speaking to the Oxford Student Union was one of those life experiences where I was fully aware of how lucky I was to be living it the entire time and trying my best not to let a singular moment go for granted… thank you so much to the @theoxfordunion for the opportunity to speak at such an historic building and organization,” Mia wrote.
Instagram/@miakhalifa
“I’m humbled and inspired by your passion to instil genuine change in the world and for curating such a diverse list of speakers at your union. What you do is incredible and important and I’m honoured to have been on your floor.
“The imposter syndrome was REAL even though I was there to talk about boundaries and confidence and my life experiences, for which you can judge all you want, but I’m at Oxford for the what I’ve done with my life since then.”
Instagram/@miakhalifa
Despite having enjoyed her visit, it seems some people were extremely triggered by her outfit-choice.
“And she wore that 🤦🏻🤦🏻🤦🏻,” one person commented, while another added: “Why is her tie so long?”
Others were critical for her just being ‘allowed’ to talk at the university.
One viewer questioned: “I still don’t understand what she was sharing with Oxford students.”
A second added: “Why tf would she be speaking at Oxford.”
Someone else said: “You know the world is ending when Mia Khalifa is giving lectures to university students.”
Amid the backlash, Mia had the perfect response to one troll, who said: “They be inviting anybody to Oxford.”
Her five-word mic drop reply read: “They didn’t invite u, b***h.”
Instagram/@miakhalifa
Fans were also quick to defend the pornstar.
“All those who comments hateful things, degrade Mia, belittle her; them all are guys hahahah man pls do better,” another fan said.
Another person said: “You’re the one judging from outside the club.”
“And what she should wear to satisfy the pompous w**kers whims?” asked another.
Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@miakhalifa
Mia Khalifa says she has a burner Twitter account to ‘cyber bully haters’
The social media star has revealed she has a secret Twitter account to deal with trolls
It’s not uncommon for many celebrities to be the brunt of some internet trolling from time to time and, naturally, many have developed their own methods of dealing with the online hate.
And this is no different for Mia Khalifa, who has revealed to fans her specific way of handling the negative comments constantly hurled her way.
The former adult film actor-turned-social media star has explained that she uses an anonymous burner Twitter account to hit back at the ‘cyber bully haters’ when it all gets a bit tough.
@miakhalifa/Instagram
The 29-year-old first came into the public eye back in 2014 after appearing in a highly controversial pornographic video which many found offensive.
The Lebanese-born influencer and sports broadcaster once held the title of being the top-rated star on Pornhub, causing controversy in the Middle East after she performed sex scenes while wearing a hijab.
However, Khalifa has since retired from the adult film industry and the majority of her income is now generated from an array of social media platforms including TikTok, Twitch, and YouTube.
Khalifa is also on OnlyFans – where she’s among one of the highest earners on the platform.
@miakhalifa/Instagram
However, the social media personality has long-since been criticised and insulted online following her short stint in the adult film industry and still suffers the brunt of mass online harassment.
So last week, Khalifa took to Twitter and uploaded a video of herself dancing and singing along to a Nicki Minaj track in her pyjamas – toothbrush microphone and all.
The video was captioned: “That’s mother” and has since been viewed millions of times after the social media was asked by a fan if she was a Minaj fan – or a ‘barb’.
One fan quote tweeted the lip-synching video writing: “I just know she has a stan Twitter burner.”
@mothersheldyn/Twitter
Surprisingly, Khalifa actually responded to the fan theory with: “I use it to cyber bully haters.”
Accompanied with three cry-laughing emojis, it’s clear that Khalifa has cracked the code on how to deal with the onslaught of online insults she regularly receives.
Fans of the social media influencer were quick to praise Khalifa for her comedic confession to running a burner Twitter account.
One fan wrote: “Mia you never fail to be more iconic,” while another posted: “You are amazing.”
A third commented: “I’m not mad at it.”
@miakhalifa/Twitter
While it has not been confirmed whether Khalifa was joking about the burner account or not, it’s clear that she’s no stranger to hitting back at people who criticise her online.
This includes her being told to ‘seek forgiveness’ for her previous career in the adult film industry by a Twitter user who clearly was not a fan of Khalifa’s sing-along video.
The condemning tweet read: “You said in the media that ‘people look at me with bad eyes because of my past’ yesterday.”
The tweet continued to tell Khalifa to ‘ask forgiveness’ with a ‘sincere heart’.
Taking no time to fire back, Khalifa simply retweeted: “Go f**k yourself.”