Lana Rhoades explains why she decided to leave the adult industry

Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.

Lana Rhoades has explained why she decided to leave the adult film industry.

The 27-year-old began her professional career in adult films back in 2016 when she was 19 years old. She then left by the end of the following year.

And yet in 2019, the podcaster was the most searched actress on PornHub, racking up 345million views.

But since leaving it, Rhoades has been very open about exploitation and abuse in the porn industry.

She started professional porn when she was 19. (Instagram/@lanarhoades)

In 2021, she said she wished she could have all her videos deleted, adding to Harry Jowsey’s Tap In podcast: “I do. I honestly tell people, if I could go back, I would give up everything to have my dignity and respect back, and for people not to be able to see me in that way."

And during a recent podcast appearance on Curious Mike, she explained her decision for leaving the ‘porn industry’ behind.

The host asked Rhoades how she was able to ‘get out’ of it and find her ‘identity outside of the industry’.

“I had to or it probably would have led to that point of killing myself. Because towards the end of it, I started having panic attacks before scenes because I really didn’t want to do them and I didn’t know how to say ‘no I don’t want to do this’,” she said.

She opened up about leaving the industry. (YouTube/ CuriousMike)

“So there really was no choice for me; it really was either ‘probably going to kill myself’ or just do anything to make something else work.”

Rhoades says she believes that if anyone just ‘works towards anything they want to do just a little bit every single day’ then they can get to their goal.

Until last summer, the star co-hosted podcast 3 Girls 1 Kitchen. She also says she is ‘now doing fashion’ and is an OnlyFans creator.

She previously spoke on YouTube channel BFFs with Dave Portnoy and Josh Richards about how she ‘did not get paid sh*t’ in the industry.

"I probably had $100,000 (£71,000) in my bank account when I quit shooting porn and now I'm a multi-millionaire,” Rhoades said.

If you're experiencing distressing thoughts and feelings, the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) is there to support you. They're open from 5pm–midnight, 365 days a year. Their national number is 0800 58 58 58 and they also have a webchat service if you're not comfortable talking on the phone.

Topics: Mental Health, OnlyFans, Sex and Relationships

Jess Battison

Jess is an Entertainment Journalist with a love of all things pop culture. Her main interests include keeping up with the Twitter girlies, waiting for a new series of The Traitors and losing her voice at a Beyoncé concert. She graduated with a first in Journalism from City, University of London in 2021 and has previously worked at MyLondon.

@jessbattison_