Last week, one of Hollywood icon Steven Spielberg’s children, Mikaela, announced she had decided to venture into starring in pornographic films.
The 23-year-old initially suggested she had the full support of her parents, Spielberg and Kate Capshaw. In reality, though, her parents are “embarrassed” and “concerned” about her decision, a source told Page Six.
“[Her parents] only want the best for her,” said one source who has worked with Spielberg. “But they’re also concerned that this path might not end up being the best.”
While the famous director and Capshaw have always been supportive of all their children — including Mikaela — they are apparently “embarrassed by her sudden public admission of entry into the sex worker world.”
The family friend who spoke to Page Six explained the situation this way:
[Steven and Kate] are friends with many artistic people, and those people are complicated and some have complicated kids. Everybody gets it. Some kids, no matter what advantages — or even because of them — are just lost. Maybe Mikaela felt unworthy of her folks, of her name, that she could never live up to it. It’s hard to be the product of parents who are so successful.
Speaking to The Sun, Mikaela, also known as “Sugar Star,” said she has already self-produced a handful of her own pornographic videos and is waiting for her sex worker license in Tennessee to be approved.
“I’m doing this — not out of an urge to hurt anybody or be spiteful about it — I’m doing this because I want to honor my body in a way that’s lucrative,” the young woman explained.
Mikaela has been no stranger to the spotlight, often traveling with her famous father to award shows, movie sets, and film premieres. She has also admitted to struggling with anxiety and bipolar disorder.
The announcement from the younger Spielberg comes in the midst of a brewing uprising against Pornhub, one of the largest internet pornography providers in the world. The site is facing intense scrutiny over its illicit content.
Pornhub, owned by parent company MindGeek, which hosts a slew of pornographic sites, is currently profiting off sex trafficking and the rape and abuse of girls and women.
There is an ongoing petition to have the site shut down.
“The onus of responsibility is not just on the traffickers and those who are raping the girls; it’s on the website that is not only hosting these videos, but profiting off of them,” Laila Mickelwait, director of abolition for Exodus Cry, told Faithwire. “And that’s what makes them a mega-trafficker.”