Ron Jeremy enjoys notoriety as being one of the world’s most recognizable adult entertainers. At age 56, “the Hedgehog”, as he is nicknamed, still has sizable celebrity appeal. This year he decided to stop at the 2010 Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas, rather than merely his typical show — the Adult Entertainment Expo.
Mr. Jeremy was seen at CES peddling custom filters which he says are essential for blocking children from viewing mature materials online. At the show he delivered one of the more controversial speeches, launching into a tirade about the evils of technology.
He first attacked the internet, stating, “The internet has allowed a lot of crooks, thieves and squatters to become millionaires. Normally, they wouldn’t get a job washing dishes. I have a lot of problems with the internet and with identity theft. It has happened to me twice with my bank account, so I am not a big fan. People can download stuff for free these days, so why the heck are they going to buy it? The only ones making money out of porn are the novelty companies. I just hate the internet in general.”
Before appearing in over 2,000 adult films, Mr. Jeremy was a school teacher, with a masters degree in special education and two bachelor of arts degrees in education and theater. He says that as a former educator, another thing that disturbs him is video game violence.
He states, “Studies have found that violent video games are a much bigger negative influence on kids [than pornography].”
As to whether his own work is a negative influence, he points the finger at parents, instead. He gripes, “Parents can block this stuff and need to stop blaming porn for a bad case of parenting. Parents should watch what their kids are doing online and take some responsibility. Don’t blame us. We have disclaimers, age notifications and software blockers. We are doing our bit.”
Mr. Jeremy isn’t against all video games, though. In fact, he has been known to dress up as the Nintendo character Mario on occasion.
Jim Sterling of gaming news blog Destructoid.com was quick to blast Mr. Jeremy’s comments, calling them indicative of “ignorance”. He writes, “It’s rather hypocritical behavior and it doesn’t speak up for pornography’s merits by merely saying ‘something else is worse, don’t look at us.’ Very disappointing behavior from a man who should know better.”
Despite Mr. Jeremy’s claims, recent studies have been split on whether video game violence has anything to do with juvenile crime or psychological problems. In fact, some studies have even suggested that gaming may have positive effects on children. The biggest concern with gaming today is perhaps not the violence, but the lower health of the average gamer, according to some recent studies.
Mr. Jeremy is not alone in blaming violent video games, though, for the problems of our nation’s children. Infamous former lawyer Jack Thompson became a celebrity for his campaign against the gaming industry. And across the country many fundamentalist churches of several religions, including Islam and Christianity have decried the evils of gaming. Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez also recently moved to try to ban violent video games.