“Porn Stars Are People” Is The Sex Positive Podcast You Need In Your Life
By Matt Levy
Human beings have always had a strange relationship with celebrities. Thanks to tabloids at your grocery store checkout lines, social media in your pocket and the 24-hour news cycle on every screen imaginable, everyone knows everything about A-list movie stars, politicians and athletes. In addition to their lives in the spotlight, these high profile personalities have lives outside their public personas and we all know all about that too. When it comes to Porn Celebs, audiences rarely get a glimpse into their personal lives, at the bequest of privacy and safety.
I recently discovered a podcast that attempts just that. A private look at pornographers. The eye opening podcast “Porn Stars Are People” (PSAP for short) hosted by the warm, engaging and witty comedian Dan Frigolette. In a time where isolation is at an all-time high, “Adult cam sites, which allow viewers to watch and interact with erotic performers in real time have seen a massive viewership spike” according to Vox.com, viewers are more interested than ever in the stars’ behind the scenes lives. Luckily, Frigolette’s PSAP has 145 episodes ready to go for you that interview both male and female performers ranging from Alexis Fawxx and Sara Jay to Dapper Dan and Chad Alva so there’s a little something for every listener.
Frigolette, who hosted the 2019 Inked Awards, was inspired to create PSAP because he, “Thought it was crummy that adult industry performers only get asked explicit XXX questions on podcasts.” He’s right; these people have lived unique lives that brought them to the industry and there’s so much more to them than overt sexuality. In the podcast, he strives to discuss, “Life, love, and happiness through the eyes of Adult Film Stars with the hope of de-stigmatizing porn and the performers who choose the lifestyle.” Ultimately, the show hopes to humanize comedians, porn stars, people and listeners alike to see that life is not about labels, judgements and critiques.
Over the course of the 145 episodes recorded as of late April 2020, PSAP has had stars on the show talking about topics as varied as relationships, politics, art, animals, friends, family, travel. Frigolette says, “We have a lot of fun doing it, all without deeply devoting time to the semantics of the industry.”
Because of that, the industry is noticing. The podcast is rapidly approaching one million total streams. On top of that, Frigolette notes the podcast has predicted the success of new performers showing that by showing off your human side you connect with your audience in a whole new way. As the project continues to expand, Frigolette noted that since he caters to all types of listeners, he would, “Love to have more sex positive fangirls of porn listen” since there are stories that are tailor-made for them.
At a time where porn sites have “Seen about a 30 percent increase in traffic,” according to Gunner Taylor of Cams.com, now, more than ever, people want to hear from those performing for your wants and desires. Performer GuiltyCaprice added, “To simply get naked and act sexy, ignoring the specialized emotional and communicative skill sets and labor that go into crafting a successful cam persona or show (leads to a less successful career).” Star Lauren Phillips also chimed in that a critical mass of her viewers “Want to talk about the coronavirus and how it is affecting us all.”
Vox pointed out that, “More and more performers spend as much or more time clothed and chatting with viewers as they do getting naked and performing sex acts. It’s why a number of high-earning performers only do non-nude shows.” If you’re embarrassed to explore this side of your sexuality while quarantined at home, it may be wise to plug in and listen to Frigolette to connect to others without the visuals.
Pre-COVID 19, Frigolette was starting to get recognized in the porn community for his admirable work for the community. Since the advent of the podcast, he’s had many famous stars break their lines at major conventions to say “Hi.” He said, “Ultimately, earning respect in a field that I’m not officially a part of feels nice.” As a comedian, Dan admits to “Hogging the mic the first 70 or so episodes” and claims he’s getting better with every interview. As Frigolette, the former troublemaker in school with good grades said, “There’s a learning curve to shutting up and being engaging.”
Who knows what the future holds, but for Frigolette who is the Executive Producer of the Comedy’s Best Kept Secret Tour, the Hoboken Comedy Festival, NJFunnyfest and Make Me Laugh, he has big dreams for the podcast. The dreams are a podcast network partnership, sponsorship and hosting the famed AVN Award Show. Hey, if porn stars are regular folks, adult awards show hosts can be too.
To connect with Frigolette and the podcast, you can find Dan and the podcast on Instagram.
You can also engage in a dialogue with the pod using the hashtag #pornstarsarepeople on Twitter.
Finally, Porn Stars Are People is on Facebook, YouTube, Patreon, Soundcloud and has a website.
As Frigolette says, “Don’t forget porn stars are regular folks, and this is the podcast to convey that. Porn Stars are not only people. They are more evolved people.”
