In this in-depth conversation, adult film producer Michael Lucas speaks with psychologist and writer Pamela Paresky about growing up gay and Jewish in the Soviet Union, his lifelong connection to Israel, and the recent backlash he faced after posting a pro-Israel message on social media.

Zionism and Cancel Culture in the Adult Entertainment Industry

Adult-film stars have turned on Michael Lucas—effectively taking sides with a Hamas regime that regards homosexuality as a capital crime.

QuillettePamela Paresky

Lucas reflects on the rise of antisemitism in progressive spaces, the erasure of Jewish suffering, and the moral confusion of an industry where performers who identify as queer condemned him — while defending regimes that criminalise homosexuality.

Transcript

Michael Lucas: I am CEO and founder of Lucas Entertainment. That's an adult film company based in New York City, which I've run for nearly three decades. I was born in Moscow in 1972 and lived through the Soviet Union. I graduated from the Law Academy in Moscow, but I never worked as a lawyer because I left the country.

I was 23 when I went to Germany. I lived there for two years, and then I moved to the United States. I’ve lived in New York since 1997.

PP: And are you a US citizen now?

ML: I am. I'm also an Israeli citizen.

PP: What was it like growing up in the Soviet Union?

ML: For me, it was very difficult. I was different because I was gay and Jewish. In a Communist society, it’s not good to be different, and certainly not good to be Jewish. It was a very antisemitic country and remains so today. "Jewish" was considered a nationality. It was listed in our passports—the so-called Fifth Paragraph. First came name, surname, city of birth, etc., and then nationality. You could be listed as Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, or Jewish—which, of course, makes no sense because there's no country called Jew.

But if someone asked your nationality, you had to say Jewish, even if you, your parents, and your grandparents were all born in Moscow. It was a way of identifying Jews. My birth certificate is actually on Wikipedia, where you can see it lists my father’s name and nationality as Jewish. My mother’s real name is Julianna Bregman, and my father is Andre Bregman. But they gave me my mother’s surname—Travis—because it sounded less Jewish than Bregman, in an attempt to protect me from antisemitism, which of course didn’t work.

In every Soviet school class journal, names were listed with nationality, so mine would be: Andrei Travis, Jewish. We had around ten Jews in a class of forty, and I think everyone eventually emigrated to America, Germany, or Israel. It was a deeply antisemitic society. And although I didn’t yet know I was gay, I was always different. For any gay person, it was very difficult to grow up there. There was a lot of bullying. I never really talked about it, because I don’t like playing the victim—it’s not sexy. I’m in a different kind of business. But what’s happening now brings back memories from my childhood.

PP: What was it like being gay, and how did you discover your sexuality?

ML: There was no information about sex at all. It wasn't discussed. In films, people would kiss and then you'd see a clock ticking, and that meant they had sex. So even straight sex was hidden. I didn’t understand why I was interested in boys instead of girls. Around the age of 15, I read about homosexuality for the first time. It was described as a perversion and a criminal offence.

That led to six or seven very difficult years. You think you're the only one, and if there are others, they're criminals. You believe something is fundamentally wrong with you. Around 17 or 18, I read in a Soviet newspaper that the West celebrates homosexuality, and that it’s a sign of Western degeneracy. That gave me hope. I thought, "There are countries where being gay is a good thing." Anti-Western propaganda saved me.

PP: Was it in Germany that you were able to explore your sexuality?

ML: No, it was before that, when I was 17 or 18 and still in Russia. I went to law school and graduated in 1994. I left in 1995. I didn’t want to live in Russia anymore, so I moved to Germany, lived there for two years, and then emigrated to America in 1997.

PP:And was it in Germany that you got into the industry you’re in now?

ML: Yes. Believe it or not, back then, if you came to Germany as a tourist, you couldn't legally work. But in this industry, I could. So I thought, "I can probably be successful." I believed the industry back then was full of unserious people and a lot of drugs. I’d never touched drugs—never tried them, never drank, never smoked. I thought I had the discipline to succeed.

PP: Did you start producing in Germany or in the US?

ML: In Germany. I made my first film there, then filmed in France with a renowned director. When I moved to America, I worked as a performer for the biggest adult company at the time, in 1997. I did that for a year, and then I started my own company in 1998.

PP: And "performer" is the term used for actors in adult films?

ML: Yes, performer is fine.

PP: You've become very successful and launched many careers, helping others become successful in the industry.

ML:Yes. Lucas Entertainment became very well known. Any gay man probably knows it. We produced hundreds of films—very high-quality adult content. We helped a lot of people build careers.

PP: Fast forward to the recent controversy. What happened?

ML: I’m a Zionist. That word is now used as a slur against me. But Zionism simply means believing that Jews have a right to self-determination and their own country—that Jews must have Israel, a place where they can live and defend themselves.

PP: That Israel has the right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state.

ML: Exactly. I always come to Israel during conflicts. I visit at least once a year, but if there's a conflict or Israel is attacked, I make sure to come here. It feels right to me.

PP: Say more about why.

ML: I became a Zionist after learning about the Holocaust. My family was Jewish but not religious. My grandmother was a musician, my mother a philologist specialising in Russian literature. My grandfather and father were engineers. We talked about literature and music, not Israel. In the Soviet Union, Israel was considered an enemy. Zionism was condemned. Famous Jewish entertainers were forced to publicly denounce Zionism.

When I learned about the Holocaust—I think I was 14 or 15—I realised that Israel was a place where Jews could go to be safe. That connection gave me strength.

PP: You learned about the Holocaust in the Soviet Union?

ML: Yes, but we weren’t taught about it. The Holocaust wasn’t part of our education. The Soviet narrative was always about Soviet civilians—women and children—killed by Nazis. It was never specifically about Jews. Even when they talked about concentration camps or memorials, they referred only to “Soviet people.” For example, the Babi Yar massacre site in Kyiv was commemorated without mentioning Jews at all. The word “Holocaust” wasn’t used; we didn’t know it.

So I only discovered the truth when I was around 14. And then I connected the dots myself: that Israel exists as a place of safety for Jews. That wasn’t something anyone taught me. It was my own conclusion.

PP: When did you first visit Israel?

ML: In 2004.

PP: That’s quite late.

ML: Yes, it is.

PP: And you’ve said that whenever there’s a conflict, you return.

ML: Since the Lebanon War in 2006, yes. Every time there’s a conflict, I come back and stay here through it.

PP: I understand that you made the connection between the Holocaust and Israel, but many people who know about the Holocaust don’t respond the way you do. What drives you to come here during these moments?

ML: It feels right. These are my people. This is my country. I have the option to come here, and I do.

Growing up in the Soviet Union, you face antisemitism constantly. Even in Moscow, which was supposedly more cosmopolitan, antisemitism was a daily experience. In America, many Jews might encounter it here and there—but it’s much less frequent.

We had lunch recently in Tel Aviv with Jerry Seinfeld and his partner. He said, “This is the first time in my life I’ve experienced antisemitism.” He grew up in New Jersey. He said he thought it was something from the past. For me, that was shocking, because I’ve experienced antisemitism for as long as I can remember. In school, it was constant—“Jew” was a slur.

So the connection between the Holocaust, antisemitism, and Israel is visceral for me. Israel is the one place where Jews are not outsiders. We can live here, and we can come here if things get worse elsewhere.

PP: You’ve always been interested in history, haven’t you?

ML: Yes, very much so. I’ve always been drawn to history, and Jewish history is filled with persecution. Jews have been disproportionately targeted throughout the centuries. We’ve been expelled, massacred, subjected to pogroms. It’s a tragic and violent history.

Now we have a country, and we have to defend it.

PP: It reminds me of a marriage vow — in sickness and in health.

It's like that, isn’t it? You love your country, and you are here for your country in good times and in bad.

ML: Absolutely, yes. I also come here just for fun. There’s a vibrant gay life in Tel Aviv. I’m not big on clubs, but this is the only place where I occasionally go out, because it’s genuinely fun. You don’t really need dedicated gay clubs here — gays are so visible and integrated. There are big gay parties, and I go to some of them now and then.

But when the country is in trouble, I feel I absolutely have to be here.

PP: This conflict obviously began with a horrific day of atrocities. Many people saw it almost live — on video, on social media. But instead of an overwhelming show of support for Israel in the US, especially in elite circles and on college campuses, we’ve seen a kind of inverted reaction. There's been condemnation of Israel, blaming of Israel, even accusations of genocide — and that reaction has gone global.

ML: That’s exactly the accusation that’s been made against me. My name was written on a bomb.

PP: Can you tell that story?

ML: When I came to Israel at the start of the war, I brought 10 pairs of boots from America to donate to IDF soldiers. I posted a photo of the boots on Instagram.

Later, someone from the IDF sent me a picture of a bomb with my name written on it: “From Michael Lucas to Gaza.” I didn’t post that image. I forgot about it.

Then I came across a tweet by Jake Shields — a known American antisemite and homophobe. If you Google “Jake Shields homophobe,” you’ll find plenty. Over the past several months, he’s been fixated on attacking Israel. Someone in the IDF, perhaps in a moment of dark humour, wrote his name and the names of other antisemites on bombs. He posted one of those images on Twitter to complain.

I replied to his tweet — jokingly — with the bomb that had my name on it. I wrote: “I also got this picture. I asked for it. Did they send you a before and after?” It was clearly a joke.

Weeks later, someone who disliked me dug up the photo, sent it around to performers and people in the industry, and then the condemnation began. Probably 20 performers — many of whom I had worked with and helped build their careers — turned on me.

They called me a “genocidal Zionist”, a “baby murderer”, a “criminal”. “Zionist” was used like a slur. Then others started pressuring performers who hadn’t yet said anything — demanding they publicly denounce me, and delete all promotions for Lucas Entertainment. It was very Soviet in style — like when someone’s accused and the whole society is expected to issue public condemnations.

PP: Like you must condemn or face consequences.

ML: Exactly. And not everyone in the industry is antisemitic. Some are. But many just don’t understand anything about the conflict. They got the impression — from social media and TV — that Israel is the aggressor and Palestinians are the victims.

In the early days after October 7th, there was some coverage of the massacre. But in my opinion, Israel made a mistake by not immediately releasing the raw footage. I watched 47 minutes of that footage — the massacre. I don’t think anything like it has ever been seen in the modern era. Maybe the Rwandan genocide — maybe. But the footage hasn’t been made public.

So what people saw was just the aftermath — the destruction in Gaza. Of course, wars are ugly. The images are horrific. And models — especially those who don’t know anything about the conflict — began sharing content from Palestinian sources, and condemning Israel.

Then you had performers who were intimidated — who received threats. For many of them, this industry is their only livelihood. So they were pressured: “Condemn him, or your career is over.”

PP: Has anyone publicly defended you?

ML: No. And I didn’t ask anyone to defend me publicly. I received a lot of kind messages — some performers called me and said, “We stand with you, we stand with your people. We’re sorry this happened to you.” But I never asked for public support.

PP: But no one volunteered?

ML: No. No one did.

PP: Has anyone told you privately that they support you, but then condemned you publicly?

ML: Not quite. A couple of performers I had worked with did later apologise to me privately. I asked one of them: “You sent me a message saying you’re sorry for what you did — but you condemned me publicly. That was very hurtful. Why won’t you say something publicly now?”

He didn’t respond. Another said something like, “I still disagree with your methods.” But of course, they don’t understand the scale of what happened — the cruelty, the context. They haven’t read the reports.

PP: Which reports?

ML: For example, The New York Times spent two months investigating what happened — especially the sexual violence. Women were raped and murdered at the same time. In many cases, while one man was raping a woman, another was mutilating her body — slicing off her breasts. It’s hard to even describe.

We haven’t seen atrocities like this in our lifetimes. But the younger generation doesn’t know that. If you look at approval ratings, younger people tend to disapprove of Israel’s actions. Older people are more supportive — overwhelmingly so in the United States — because they know more. They’re not living in a TikTok bubble.

What people don’t understand is that to win a war — unfortunately — you have to go in 100 per cent. That’s something Israel is not doing. Think about how World War II was won. We knew we had to break the morale of Nazi Germany. So we carpet-bombed cities. We killed millions of civilians. And no one said, “We need a ceasefire — civilians are dying.”

Germans voted for the Nazis. They attacked England, attacked the Soviet Union, attacked Europe. There were consequences. The Americans and British bombed entire cities that had no military importance. They did it because they knew that to win the war, you had to crush the enemy’s will to fight.

Israel is not doing that. That’s what people don’t understand.

PP: When people accuse Israel of genocide...

ML: It’s absurd. If Israel wanted to destroy Hamas in one day, we could. We have the capabilities. Everyone knows that. Gaza could be levelled. But we didn’t. We bombed specific targets. Yes, civilians died — in every war there’s collateral damage. But then the IDF went in — on foot — to minimise civilian casualties.

That put our own soldiers at risk. We’re losing our people. Why? Because we are trying to minimise Palestinian deaths. And yet we’re being accused of genocide.

People just don’t understand this. They don’t think about how other countries fight wars. They haven’t read any history.

ML: I remember Joan Rivers — when she was alive — during the 2014 Gaza war. She was stopped at the airport by TMZ and asked what she thought of the conflict. And she said, “Are you all insane? They started it!” She repeated it: “They started it. Of course we’re going to respond.”

When they said civilians were dying, she replied, “I don’t care — they started it. They’re using their own people as human shields. That’s not our problem.”

That’s the part people don’t want to understand. They don’t want to think about it. Hamas started this war. Israelis didn’t want it. We were actually trying to live peacefully — which was a mistake. We thought we could live next to a terrorist state run by Hamas.

That was naive.

We assumed that if people were living well — receiving billions in humanitarian aid from around the world — then they would choose to enjoy life. We saw Hamas leaders living luxuriously, driving expensive cars, living in villas. And we forgot the nature of these people.

But we are dealing with a religious ideology. It’s in Hamas’s charter: the elimination of the State of Israel. And they’ve never hidden it. They tell us repeatedly — they want to kill all Jews.

PP: Nazis tried to hide what they were doing.

ML: Exactly. Nazis carried out the Holocaust in secret. They didn’t brag about it. They denied it, even later. At the Nuremberg Trials, they claimed they were just following orders, afraid to disobey.

But Hamas? Hamas brags about it. They filmed what they did. They distributed it themselves.

I watched those videos. One in particular struck me — they were decapitating a Thai worker on a kitchen floor, shouting “Allahu Akbar” the entire time, with glee.

The world hasn’t seen anything like that. And yet, the world still hasn’t seen it — because that footage has only been made available to journalists and select officials.

This is something unprecedented. And yet people continue to talk about Israel as if it’s the aggressor.

PP: Do you think it would make a difference if those performers — the ones condemning you — saw that footage?

ML: Yes. For some of them, absolutely.

PP: Not all?

ML: No, not all. I see three groups of people: real antisemites — the ones who lead this wave of hatred; people who are simply ignorant — and that’s a big group in the adult industry; and people who are cowards — those who gave in under pressure.

PP: So antisemitism, ignorance, and cowardice.

ML: Yes. If you want to be blunt about it, those are the categories. But I also try to be understanding. The pressure is real.

If you’re caught in a Twitter bubble, and you see a flood of condemnations, it feels like your entire career is at stake if you don’t join in. It feels like you have to post something — or you’ll be next. But if they stopped and thought for just a moment — if they looked at who they were attacking, and why — they might realise how absurd it is.

PP: There’s another bizarre element to this — the person you were responding to, Jake Shields, isn’t just an antisemite. He’s also a homophobe.

ML: Yes — and what’s worse, I saw performers tagging him in their tweets. They were directing their condemnations at both him and me. They had no idea who he was. He hates gay people. I wouldn’t be surprised if he also hates porn stars.

They didn’t know anything about the person they were defending — or the person they were attacking.

What’s even more absurd is that many of the same performers were defending Palestinians — a society that would mutilate and kill them, not just because they’re gay, but because they work in porn. That society would treat them exactly as they treated the Jews on October 7th. They would be executed for being who they are.

PP: Right.

ML: I’d be killed for being gay, for being a porn producer — and for being a Jew. Any one of those reasons would be enough.

And they don’t need to do any deep research to know this. It’s all out there. In Gaza, under Hamas, being gay is criminalised.

PP: And under the Palestinian Authority as well.

ML: Yes — under Fatah too. More broadly, in many Muslim countries, homosexuality is illegal. In several of them, it’s punishable by death — often by stoning. The only exceptions are countries like Turkey and Jordan. Even in Turkey, when they tried to hold a pride parade, the police beat people up.

And I’ve heard people say, “Oh, as a gay person, I can be killed in any Western capital too.” Sure — anyone can be the victim of crime. An old lady can be mugged in New York. But that’s not the same. In the West, we’re protected by laws.

Yes, homophobia exists — but it’s not institutionalised. It’s not state-sanctioned. And it doesn’t result in public mutilations.

PP: Have you met any gay Palestinians who sought asylum in Israel?

ML: Oh, yes. Absolutely.

PP: What did they tell you?

ML: I travel a lot, and I’m a curious person. I don’t just visit typical gay tourist destinations. I’ve travelled throughout the Middle East — Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco. Before each trip, I’d go on Gay Romeo — a site for gay men — and post that I was coming. I’d say, “Michael Lucas in Tunis” or “Michael Lucas in Cairo,” and arrange to meet local gay men.

Most of them didn’t believe it was really me. We’d do video calls to confirm. I’ve met five or six gay men in almost every country I’ve visited in the region. So I know far more Middle Eastern gay men than any of the people who attacked me online.

And the overwhelming majority of them — unlike Western activists — do not hate Israel.

They know the propaganda about Israel, of course. But they also know, because of the internet, that Israel is incredibly gay-friendly. They know gay men from Europe and America go there for Pride.

And they also know that Israeli gay activists have saved the lives of many gay Palestinians — helping them flee to Israel or Europe. There’s a documentary by the Israeli filmmaker Yariv Mozer called The Invisible Men. It’s about how Israeli activists help gay Palestinians escape to safety.

PP: The Invisible Men?

ML: Yes, that’s the name — The Invisible Men. It follows gay Palestinians who were being hunted by their own families. Honour killings. They escaped to Israel, but even in Israel, they feared being found. So Israeli activists helped them move on to Europe — to places where they could live freely.

And that’s something the people accusing me of “hating Palestinians” don’t know. They don’t understand that in Palestinian society, if you’re gay, your own father or brother or uncle might kill you. That’s what “honour killing” means. It’s not a government executing you. It’s your own family.

And yet, these activists — mostly queer, mostly liberal — are defending a society that would murder them.

PP: It’s astonishing. It’s unnatural.

ML: It amazes me. It’s the power of propaganda and ignorance. These people are defending a culture that is absolutely opposed to everything they stand for.

We’re talking about a society that is against abortion, against gay rights, against women’s rights — and is willing to kill to enforce those values.

And yet, because of Israel — because it’s Jews — they align themselves with that culture. It makes no sense.

PP: And this idea that supporting the IDF means you're supporting some kind of moral atrocity?

ML: If not for the IDF, there would be no Israel. If we didn’t have a defence force, there wouldn’t be a single Jew left here.

If the Holocaust taught us anything, it’s this: when people say they want to kill you, believe them. The Palestinians say it every day — they want to kill us. The leaders of Hamas have said they want to repeat October 7th over and over again.

So yes, I support the IDF. I support our army. I don’t want to be killed. I don’t want my people to be murdered or tortured. Of course I support them.

Any honest, reasonable, decent person should support the IDF.

Wars are ugly. That’s the nature of war. But this isn’t about choosing between good and evil — it’s about survival.

PP: Thank you.

ML: Thank you.

PP: What would you like people to understand — especially those who are quick to condemn you, or others who support Zionism and Israel?

ML: That Zionism is simply the belief that Jews have a right to self-determination and to have a country — one country. Just one tiny country.

And that the way Israel is treated — the obsessive focus, the hate — is completely hypocritical. All this supposed concern for Palestinians? It’s fake. It’s not about Palestinians.

None of these performers said a word about Hamas on October 7th. Not one of them condemned it. They were silent. And then, suddenly, they all had opinions about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They all became experts. But they never speak up about other atrocities.

Where were they when Saudi Arabia was bombing Yemen and killing civilians? When Assad was slaughtering hundreds of thousands of Syrians? When Muslims were being massacred by other Muslims? No protests. No outrage. No condemnations.

It’s only when Jews are involved that their blood starts to boil. Only then do they feel compelled to speak. That’s not activism. That’s antisemitism.

PP: It's a sick preoccupation.

ML: Exactly. If you're only criticising Israel — if you're silent on every other human rights issue, but suddenly very vocal about this one — that's not about justice. That’s about Jews.

PP: There’s a difference between criticising Israeli policy and denying Israel’s right to exist.

ML: Of course. But look at the comments on my Instagram. I posted a photo with Jerry Seinfeld while he was visiting Israel. There were over 800 comments — and many of them were explicitly antisemitic. Real, vile antisemitism. Not just criticism of policy.

They called me a “kike”. They said Israel should be wiped off the map. They said I should be dead. That’s not about Gaza. That’s not about human rights. That’s about Jews.

PP: So what’s next for you?

ML: I’ll be fine. Some people may boycott me, refuse to work with me — that’s okay. There are plenty of performers. Yes, I’m still producing films.

Even if they’re screaming and upset, I’ll continue doing what I do. It’s important to remember: this is a vocal group — but it’s also a relatively small one. They’re just loud and aggressive.

The real issue is the scale of what Hamas did — how successful that attack was, not just militarily but symbolically. It created shockwaves all over the world. Now Jewish business owners are being boycotted. I’m a gay porn producer — and I’m being boycotted. That’s how ridiculous and far-reaching this has become.

This attack — October 7th — affected everything. Jewish people all over the world are afraid. More afraid now in European capitals — and even in parts of the United States — than they are in Israel. Jews are feeling unsafe.

And more than that, Jews are deeply disappointed. Most Jews are liberal. We supported Black Lives Matter. We supported progressive causes. But now, many of those movements and communities have turned their backs on us. When we needed their support, they were silent — or worse, they were condemning us.

That betrayal cuts deep.

And all of it — all of this antisemitism — exploded not because of something Israel did, but in response to the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. Over 1,200 Jews murdered in one day, in the most barbaric way imaginable. And that triggered a global wave of hate — not sympathy.

It’s like Nazi Germany again: Jewish businesses are being boycotted. And it’s not just me. So many Jewish-owned businesses are being targeted. And many of the models don’t even know the history — they don’t realise that boycotting Jewish businesses was exactly what the Nazis did in the 1930s.

Now it’s happening again. Jews are receiving an enormous number of threats on social media. That’s not a coincidence. That’s a pattern.

Even in gay porn — where the people doing the boycotting are themselves the exact targets of the ideology they’re defending.

You’ll hear people in the industry say, “We can’t work with someone who supports the IDF.” But if not for the IDF, there would be no Israel. We would all be dead. If the Holocaust taught us anything, it’s that when someone says they want to kill you, believe them.

And Hamas says it every day. They want to kill us. They say they’ll repeat October 7th again and again. So of course I support the IDF. I support my army. I don’t want to be killed. I don’t want my people tortured or murdered.

Any honest, reasonable, good person should support the IDF. And they should remember: war is ugly. But so is pretending that it’s not happening.