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Read Across America Refuses Donation from Porn Company Affiliated with Sasha Grey
Sasha Grey, right, with Burning Angel's Joanna Angel, left (Photo by Koga/LAist)
Last November, Sasha Grey caused a bit of an uproar when she participated in the Read Across America program by reading to elementary school kids in Compton. Now, the story of the porn star and the classroom is in the news again, as a company releasing an adult film in which Grey is featured has offered to donate some of the film's proceeds to the National Education Association's program.
Assence Films is making a video called "Anal Artists," and one of Grey's scenes will be included, reports the Huffington Post. To support Grey's demonstrated commitment to literacy, Assence offered up the donation.
But here's the twist: the NEA, which of course is just rolling in dough right now, turned the donation down. In a statement to HuffPo, the organization said:
"Sasha Grey is not affiliated with the National Education Association’s Read Across America program nor has she been invited or endorsed by NEA to read at any of the association’s Read Across America Day events, and NEA will not accept any proceeds from her latest, or any of her films."
The only conceivable justification for this decision is if the NEA is getting so much money on the regular from anti-porn crusaders that accepting a donation from Assence would result in a net loss when their other sponsors pulled the plug.
And maybe that's the case. Or maybe it would be such a PR nightmare for the NEA to have to calm the nerves of the American masses that it wouldn't be worth it to take the money.
But it kind of doesn't matter, does it? Because the bottom line is that fewer books will now be in classrooms. And whoever is ultimately at fault for that -- be it the NEA or the people who would have fought them on accepting the donation -- should be ashamed.
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