London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Dozens of women sue Pornhub - alleging explicit videos were uploaded without their consent

Dozens of women sue Pornhub - alleging explicit videos were uploaded without their consent

More than 30 women accuse MindGeek, parent company of Pornhub, of profiting from non-consensual sex videos.

Two women have told Sky News they were left feeling ashamed and suicidal after explicit videos of them were posted on the world's biggest online porn website - they claim without their consent.

In a legal case filed in the US, more than 30 women have accused MindGeek, the parent company of Pornhub, of profiting from non-consensual sex videos.

Their lawyer says the women are suing for damages which could amount to "hundreds of millions of dollars" if successful, and he believes it is a moment of reckoning for the online porn industry.

Leigh Nicol is one of a number of women suing the site's parent company


Leigh Nicol is one of three British women involved in the case. A video she filmed of herself having sex aged 18 was stolen following an iCloud hack and, without her permission, posted on sites owned by MindGeek, a company believed to be worth more than £1.2bn.

"Even at this point, I look at myself in the mirror and I feel sick because that's no longer private to me," she said.

"Because a large part of the population has seen something that they shouldn't have seen. There's shame, there's embarrassment, there's disgust, sickness, there's doubts that I'm not good enough.

"I feel like no one would ever potentially want to actually be my future husband, because I've got these videos attached to me."

Leigh claims she tried repeatedly to have the video removed from Pornhub, a website which has 130 million users each day - more than Netflix or Amazon.

She says that even when the video was taken down it would be reposted elsewhere.

"My question was why and how is this allowed," she said.

"This isn't legal. I haven't put this out there and I'm trending on some of the world's biggest adult websites."

MindGeek says it is investigating the complaint filed in California.

In a statement, the company said: "Pornhub has zero tolerance for illegal content and investigates any complaint or allegation made about content on our platforms.

"The fact is, Pornhub has in place the most comprehensive safeguards in user-generated platform history, which include the banning of uploads from unverified users, expanding our moderation processes, and cooperating with dozens of non-profit organisations around the world."

Of the 34 women suing the company, 14 said they were underage in videos uploaded to Pornhub, and 14 were victims of people charged with or convicted of sex crimes.

The legal team representing the women is led by lawyer Michael Bowe


One woman, from America's Midwest, told Sky News she was sex trafficked around different states and videos filmed of sexual encounters were later posted onto MindGeek websites.

"I was homeless and very vulnerable. If I didn't make enough money, he would rape me and beat me and put me down," she said.

"I didn't ask to put those videos up there, I didn't want them put up there and it shouldn't be happening.

"There were times I was suicidal. I was very depressed and I suffered with PTSD from all this.

"I feel very emotional as this has been a long time coming," she added. "I want them to be held accountable, because this is women's lives."

The legal team representing the 34 women is led by lawyer Michael Bowe, who represented former US president Donald Trump during the investigation into alleged Russian interference into the 2016 election.

"This has been hidden in plain sight," he said.

"You get away with it until the world's eyes turn on you, and you don't have an answer. I think it's bigger than the 'Me Too' movement, it's more serious.

"You have a handful of men who are making a lot of money exploiting God knows how many hundreds of thousands of women."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
After 200,000 Orders in 2 Minutes: Xiaomi Accelerates Marketing in Europe
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×