Porn star Phoenix Marie sues Pornhub owners Aylo $80m after co-star overdosed on set

Melissa Hutchison, a top adult film actress, is suing Pornhub owners Aylo and a director for $80 million after she was allegedly forced to continue with an orgy scene after her co-star overdosed on set. Hutchison, who performs as Phoenix Marie, claims bosses tried to blacklist her and she was subjected to a smear campaign following the 2023 incident, the Daily Mail reported.

According to the lawsuit, she says her ordeal began when he co-star, an actress named Zaawaadi, ingested too much lithium during a shoot in Barcelona. However, director and fellow porn star Martin, aka Danny D, is said to have forced her to carry on with a scene despite her castmate nearly dying and refused to call an ambulance.

The lawsuit says: “Danny D forcibly grabbed Hutchison and forbade her from leaving the set demanding that she finish the scene [...] she was forced by Danny D to have sex despite repeatedly saying no.” Danny D is also accused of throwing her “onto the floor saying, ‘we need to get our story straight’”.

She also claims executives tried to pin the lithium on her, by falsely painting her as an “unhinged, grieving mother” who had become reliant on the drug to medicate following the death of her daughter in 2019. The trauma of the situation, she said, left her with “anxiety, panic attacks, sleepless nights, and sexual dysfunction”.

Hutchison, who has 20 years in the industry and is believed to be one of the highest continually paid porn stars, says she refused to accept a $60,000 NDA payoff and claims this prompted to Aylo harm her financially. She also claimed conglomerate cancelled shoots and signing events and untagged and buried her in videos on Pornhub and other sites they own.

This led to Hutchison being isolated from her friends and colleagues who fear retaliation from Aylo, so much so that she cannot find a makeup artist willing to work with her, according to the lawsuit. The smear campaign has also resulted in her losing out on big brand deals with the likes of sex toy maker, Fleshlight.

According to the lawsuit, Aylo dominates the online pornography distribution market, overseeing an estimated 90% of all content production and distribution. This gives the company a monopoly, allowing it to hurt actors easily with little effort, as stated in the legal documents.

Hutchison claims that Aylo's activities have resulted in losses of nearly $2 million since the incident, with projected future losses reaching tens of millions due to ongoing manipulation of her search algorithm and harm to her brand. Additionally, Hutchison's law firm stated that she is experiencing PTSD from a sexual assault by Danny D., which has had devastating personal and professional impacts on her.

Hutchison's lawyers filed a suit in Nevada in February, but it has since been moved to federal court by defendants' request over jurisdictional issues. The original complaint seeks $30 million, but her lawyers say they plan on filing for $80 million, according to the Daily Beast.

Her law firm Kerr Simpson said: “Melissa saved a girl's life on set and was rewarded by Aylo and Ethical Capital Partners with physical intimidation, sexual assault, humiliation, alienation, substantial financial losses, and a smear campaign unconscionably centered on her dead child.

“We're looking forward to helping Melissa get justice not only to reclaim her daughter's memory, but also to hold the Aylo-Ethical Capital Partners Big Porn conglomerate accountable and stop them from continuing to wield their unregulated monopoly power to destroy people's lives.”

A spokesman for Aylo said: “Out of respect for the integrity of court proceedings, our policy is not to comment on ongoing litigation. We look forward to the facts being fully and fairly aired in that forum.”