Ex-Kink.com Employees Allege Culture Of Indimidation, Exclusion At SF Porn Factory
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) - Kink.com, the San Francisco-based pornography production house based out of the old Armory Building, is facing allegations from former models that they have been denied worker's compensation and have offered hush money in exchange for keeping quiet about injuries, according to a report in SF Weekly.
Kink and creator Peter Ackworth have largely built a reputation as upstanding members of the community since purchasing the Mission District building and moving their operations there 2006. However, multiple news outlets reported last week that Ackworth was arrested for cocaine position as police investigated reports of an illegal shooting range on the property.
Now, SF Weekly's reporting examines claims about the working conditions at Kink, where one former employee claims she was permanently scarred by a public lashing at the Folsom Street Fair, and other women filed – and latter settled – a lawsuit over a pay cut. One former model, Eden Alexander, said she was told she was told "I am never, ever to even utter the words 'workers' comp,'" before being offered a small payment from the company. Performer Aaliyah Avatari said she was never offered worker's comp after losing her virginity on a Kink shoot in a performance that she said left her porn career "shattered completely."
Acworth denies allegations of improper treatment, according to the report, and current employees told SF Weekly that the working conditions at Kink are professional and that the company simply creates content that allows people to explore their fantasies.
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