Celebrity sex tape
A celebrity sex tape is typically an amateur pornographic video recording involving one or more famous people which has, intentionally or unintentionally, been made available publicly. Such videos have often been released without the consent of their subjects and have damaged (or enhanced) celebrities' careers. In 1988, for example, a sex tape caused significant damage to Rob Lowe's career.[1]
Not to be confused with List of mainstream actors who have appeared in pornographic films.The surfacing of sex tapes has become so common that some are "leaked" as a marketing tool to advance or establish a media career.[1] A celebrity can fight the release in court to maintain deniability while still enjoying the career benefits. Alternatively, a celebrity may take the route of openly releasing the tape and benefitting directly from royalties as well as indirectly from the publicity. The current public acceptance of celebrities with sex tapes is speculated by Joe Levy, executive editor of Rolling Stone, to be due to the easy availability of pornography, as well as couples more commonly making their own tapes due to the prevalence of video cameras.[1]