Porn Lecture Stirs Up Fuss At Pasadena City College

LOS ANGELES (AP) — He may be the new face of adult films, but it seems not everyone is ready to embrace the image of "James Deen, Porn Star and College Lecturer."

That's what Hugo Schwyzer says he learned when he invited the star of "Atomic Vixens," ''Batman XXX" and some 1,300 similar films to deliver a guest lecture Wednesday at Pasadena City College.

Within hours of word getting out about who was coming, Schwyzer was called into a meeting with administrators of the suburban Los Angeles campus that sits along the route of the Tournament of Roses Parade.

The upshot: Deen, who once attended Pasadena City College, can still speak, but only to a small gathering of students in a closed classroom and not in the Campus Center, which seats several hundred people.

"I was told that up to 100 protesters could be expected and the college was worried about that if the lecture was opened up to the public," Schwyzer said Tuesday.

The professor, who has taught gender studies at the college for 20 years, says he's invited both porn industry representatives and anti-porn activists before without any hassle. But none, he acknowledged, have quite the profile of Deen, who also co-starred with Lindsay Lohan in the recently completed mainstream film "The Canyons."

"I really wanted to bring him in, of course, because he's also an alumnus," Schwyzer said. "He's one of our own and we're very proud of him."

The college said in a statement that Schwyzer didn't follow proper procedures when he sought a permit for Deen's appearance, which didn't allow officials to take proper security measures.

Schwyzer says he filed paperwork for the permit the same as he has in the past, although he acknowledged he didn't say specifically that the porn industry representative he'd lined up to speak was Deen. Officials apparently learned that after the actor put out his own statement.

Deen said Tuesday he hopes to make the point during his talk that "sex is not a dirty, disgusting thing."

He also spoke fondly of his time on campus, adding he's looking forward to returning.

"I always enjoy speaking at schools, and I hope this one will be very educational and a success and people will take positive things away from the lecture," he said.

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