Inside Seka - The Platinum Princess of Porn (30 page)

Rock stars treated me with far more respect. During that time, I was always invited to Aerosmith and Rolling Stones concerts. They would call and say, “What are you doing?” One time I was in Virginia visiting my family and I got a call from one of Aerosmith’s sax players, who asked if I’d come to their concert in Chicago. I told them I wasn’t home and they said they’d be in Virginia in two days. They gave me backstage parking and passes, great seats, and rooms at the hotel. Not one band member ever hit on me. I think they get hit on so often by so many chicks that they know what it’s like.

Steven Tyler was absolutely fabulous. A total gentleman. Very funny. Very polite. They liked my films and when they were on their tour buses they played porn.

When the Rolling Stones were in town they’d pick up my tickets. They had a huge bus that would take certain people to their concerts. I’d hop on the bus with some of the band members. One evening we were out there a couple of hours early. They had a big tent set up with pool tables, pinball machines, and a nice buffet laid out. Ronnie Wood was playing pool and his wife came up to me and said, “Would you do something for me? Ronnie loves you to death. All he does is talk about you. Would you please go over and give him a hug?”

It was a huge thrill for me. I walked over to him, gave him a hug and a little kiss on the cheek. His wife stood there as his mouth hung open. He couldn’t say a word. And she knew he’d react like that!

Mick Jagger’s security pretty much kept him to himself. All you’d get from Mick was, “Thank you for coming to the show.” Very polite, but nothing more than that. He does about an hour and a half workout before the show just to warm up his muscles, and then a long cool down after, so there’s not a lot of time for chit-chat. When you’re at that level of performing, you don’t need a lot of hustle-bustle before a show. You need your head clear. When they’re on tour they’re usually so busy doing interviews and such.

Keith Richards is not only funny looking, but just plain funny. A very nice guy. I’ve been going to see the Stones for thirty years, and as long as they keep going, I’ll keep going.

All in all, this period was a fabulous time. Everything seemed right with the world. But as good as it was, little did I know what the coming years had in store for me.

With Bon Jovi, 1987. Slippery When Wet, indeed. The band used to hide out and get their hair styled in my apartment in order to avoid the paparazzi. And in the eighties, that was a lot of hair.

With Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler.

With my favorite singer of all time, Roy Orbison, and his great guitarist Bucky Barrett, 1985.

With Mötley Crüe.

33.
Seka Versus the US Government

During the 1980s under the Reagan administration, the government was coming down hard on the adult entertainment business. They were trying to close down dance clubs, bookstores, and doing stings on movie sets. Everybody on the set got busted. The feds were even pulling magazines off of newsstands, and I’m talking mainstream magazines like
Playboy
and
Penthouse.
And if they weren’t being removed from the stores, they were told to cover up the flesh.

I feel it was an issue of freedom of speech, which is what this country was built on. I’m against censorship, period. If you don’t like something, don’t order it. Don’t support it. Turn the channel. Whatever. But don’t try and shut it down.

In some European countries where pornography and/or prostitution are legal, there’s less rape. There’s tax money to be paid and the government makes out. Again, nobody’s being forced into watching or doing anything.

The Meese Commission was trying to show there was violence and rape in pornography. They were painting us as Satan’s helpers trying to destroy the moral fabric of America. Hell, you couldn’t even show an erection in the newsstand nudie mags. And most of the plots of our movies were so inane you couldn’t take much of it seriously to begin with.

But they sure were out to get us.

Different adult film actors and actresses were asked to go to Washington to give their point of view on the industry. John Westin was one of the lawyers fighting to show that this was a First Amendment issue. He knew that as one of the leading names at the time and being someone who was fairly well spoken and not intimidated easily, I was a good candidate to speak for them. I said, “Absolutely. I would be more than glad to be part of this.”

Seka was about to take on the U.S. government.

I had been told to wear “court attire.” I guess they were worried they’d have a group of us looking like strippers. I showed up in an Yves St. Laurent double-breasted jacket with matching knee length skirt, with a crew collar, short-sleeved red sweater underneath, and shoes and purse that matched the suit. But there was just a touch of cobalt blue showing them there was something to be reckoned with. It was very understated, but a definite high-powered corporate look. I could have passed for one of the lawyers.

As I walked into the impressive and imposing marbled halls of Washington, D.C., I realized the gravity of what was going on. I was on Capitol Hill, for Christ’s sake. Nonetheless, I felt powerful and proud to be fighting for our freedom. I sincerely felt Attorney General Meese and his cronies were wrong. They were violating my rights. In fact, I was there to fight for everyone’s constitutional rights. If you don’t fight for what you believe in, you no longer live in a democracy. It becomes a tyranny of sorts.

Mr. Westin sat down with a group of us. Adult actress Veronica Vera was there, too. He told us what to expect. He was a very capable, excellent lawyer who kept me calm. He didn’t try to manipulate us. He just readied us for what might be coming, telling us if we feel like we’re stumped and need a little extra time to think, repeat the question back to the person who asked.

We were sitting at a table on these big, long, mahogany benches. There were huge, gargantuan double doors going into the hearing room. You’re the size of an ant in comparison, but I didn’t feel that way even when I was summoned and the doors opened.

There had to be fifty to seventy-five reporters and media people inside. The lights of the camera flashes and video cameras were blinding. But I felt like I was walking on sunshine. There was no way I was going to let this crumb of a man, Ed Meese, make me feel ashamed. He wasn’t my father and I wasn’t going to let him scold me.

They asked if I saw drugs in our business. I told them there may have been, but I didn’t see it. I wasn’t going to lie. They had this image of us all sitting around shooting heroin and snorting coke off each other’s asses. Nothing could be further from the truth. We were worker bees, blue-collar types. We didn’t push papers around in an air-conditioned office. We were sweaty, athletic, and at the end of a sixteen-hour day we were physically dog-tired. If we were doing drugs that whole time there was no way we could perform.

They asked if there was anything I did on film that I didn’t want to do. “No,” I said honestly.

After many negative questions trying to paint me into a corner making my industry look bad, they clearly saw they weren’t getting anywhere. I told them I liked what I did and I did it because I wanted to. That wasn’t exactly the answer they were looking for. There was an awkward pause. Dead silence.

It was around this point, I got hot under the collar and said, “Look, Eddie… .”

John Westin kicked me hard under the table as if to say, “This is the Attorney General!”

I looked at John and said, “Well, that’s his name, isn’t it?”

Meese sat up rigidly in his chair looking startled, like I had offended him. I brought up
Gone With The Wind
and commented on the scene where Rhett Butler broke the bedroom door down and ravished Scarlett. Just because you didn’t see the actual act, didn’t he rape her? All you saw was her face going “No, no, no…” but her body was saying “Yes, yes, yes…” This was a critically acclaimed classic film, but I didn’t see anyone attacking it because it had a rape scene in it.

He didn’t respond. I tasted victory. He was speechless.

I was pretty much dismissed after that. They hadn’t gotten what they wanted from me. The anti-porn people never did and never will.

There was a ton of press after this and much of it portrayed me positively as someone who didn’t back down. In fact, I don’t remember a negative word written about me in particular.

The Meese Report ultimately met with much controversy. It was criticized by some of the experts whose research was utilized. They claimed their results were distorted and were incongruent with the final report. Some believe Meese minimized evidence indicating pornography is not dangerous, and others regard the commission members as a pre-selected cohort of anti-pornography zealots. The report was criticized by many inside and outside the pornography industry, calling it biased, incredible, and inaccurate. Ultimately Meese himself, as well as other members of the commission, such as Father Bruce Ritter, met with personal scandals.

Meanwhile, this little country girl had taken on the U.S. government and stood her ground, taking on the big boys. I walked down those halls of justice and felt like David. Goliath had been slain.