Exodus Cry

Exodus Cry is an American Christian non-profit advocacy organization for helping sex trafficking victims as well as seeking the abolition of the legal commercial sex industry, including pornography, strip clubs, and sex work, as well as illegal sex trafficking.[2] It has been described by the New York Daily News,[3] TheWrap,[4] and others as anti-LGBT, with ties to the anti-abortion movement.[5]

Exodus Cry
Legal status501(c)(3) organization[1]

History

The organization originally developed out of a weekly prayer group founded in 2007 by Benjamin Nolot, a filmmaker and member of the Charismatic Christian International House of Prayer. Nolot is currently the CEO of the organization. Exodus Cry says it is no longer directly affiliated with the church, but that it is faith-based and does offer prayer instruction on its website.[6][7] As of 2018, Exodus Cry was listed as a "related tax-exempt organization" on tax filings submitted by the International House of Prayer and has partnered with the church for campaigns since then.[6]

Traffickinghub campaign

The campaign states: "We're calling for Pornhub to be shut down and its executives held accountable for these crimes." Writing for Vice, Samantha Cole says that there are similarities between Exodus Cry campaign's messaging and that of some far-right (neo-Nazis and white supremacists) and extremist Christian groups; however, Cole writes that they have "never explicitly called for violence against Pornhub, and both groups clearly condemned these posts and others that call for violence while invoking their names after Motherboard reached out for comment."[7]

In December 2020, Pornhub's parent company MindGeek was sued in California on allegations of hosting non-consensual videos produced by GirlsDoPorn, which allegedly coerced women into appearing in their videos under false pretenses. In January 2021, a class action lawsuit making similar allegations was launched in Montreal, seeking $600 million in damages for anyone whose intimate photos and videos had been shared on MindGeek's sites without their consent.[8] In June 2021, another class-action lawsuit by 34 additional women was filed against Mindgeek in federal court, alleging that the company had exploited them and hosted and promoted videos that depicted rape, revenge porn, and child sexual abuse.[9]

Ban of sexually explicit content on OnlyFans

Pressure from the group, alongside purported MasterCard policy changes, was alleged to be behind the initial decision of OnlyFans to ban sexually explicit content in late 2021[10][11] (although this decision was subsequently reversed after a major backlash).[12]

Criticism

In 2017, Exodus Cry released Liberated: The New Sexual Revolution, a documentary filmed during Spring Break condemning hook-up culture and casual sex. The film was shown on Netflix and at various college campuses. The film and the organization were criticized by people for failing to disclose the group's religious background, as well as for director Nolot's historic opposition to abortion and gay rights.[13][14]

In November 2020, actress Melissa McCarthy and HBO pulled their planned charitable support of the organization, after learning that founder and CEO Nolot had once compared abortion to the Holocaust, and had also condemned gay marriage.[15] The next month, the International Slavery Museum cancelled a planned collaboration with the organization because of Nolot's views on gay marriage.[16] In both cases, Exodus Cry denied accusations of homophobia, and stated that Nolot's personal views were not relevant to the overall mission of the organization.[17]

References
  1. "Exodus Cry | Sacramento, CA | Cause IQ". www.causeiq.com. Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  2. Foley, Ryan (November 17, 2020). "Exodus Cry responds after Melissa McCarthy withdraws support over 'homophobic,' 'anti-choice' views". The Christian Post. Archived from the original on January 17, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  3. Assunção, Muri (November 13, 2020). "Melissa McCarthy apologizes for unintentionally backing organization with reported anti-LGBTQ, anti-abortion ties". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on August 21, 2021. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  4. Baysinger, Tim (November 12, 2020). "HBO Max Called Out for $20,000 Donation to Evangelical Group With Anti-LGBT, Anti-Abortion History". The Warp. Archived from the original on January 27, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  5. "Local church joins human trafficking fight". Amarillo Globe-News. October 1, 2016. Archived from the original on August 21, 2021. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  6. Hitt, Tarpley (November 2, 2020). "Inside Exodus Cry: The Shady Evangelical Group With Trump Ties Waging War on Pornhub". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on February 20, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  7. Cole, Samantha (April 13, 2021). "The Crusade Against Pornhub Is Going to Get Someone Killed". Vice. Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  8. Leavitt, Kieran (January 8, 2021). "Pornhub owner facing proposed $600 million class-action lawsuit from Ontario woman". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on January 12, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  9. "In a new lawsuit, more than 30 women accuse Pornhub of profiting from videos posted without their consent". www.cbsnews.com. Archived from the original on June 17, 2021. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  10. Veljanovski, Lydia (August 20, 2021). "Why Visa and Mastercard are being blamed for OnlyFans banning content". Newsweek. Archived from the original on August 23, 2021. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  11. Brown, Hayes (August 20, 2021). "Opinion | Cash, credit, and clout: Why OnlyFans is ditching porn". MSNBC. Archived from the original on August 23, 2021. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  12. Browne, Ryan (August 25, 2021). "OnlyFans says it will no longer ban porn in stunning U-turn after user backlash". CNBC. Archived from the original on October 8, 2021. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  13. Provost, Claire. "Revealed: the US 'Christian fundamentalists' behind new Netflix film on millennial sex lives". OpenDemocracy.com. Archived from the original on December 16, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  14. Grant, Melissa Gira (December 10, 2020). "Nick Kristof and the Holy War on Pornhub". The New Republic. Archived from the original on December 17, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  15. Rosen, Christopher (November 13, 2020). "Melissa McCarthy Apologizes for Supporting Charity with Anti-LGBTQ Past". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on December 18, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  16. Pye, Laura (December 17, 2020). "A statement from Director of National Museums Liverpool, Laura Pye, about the ArtXFreedom display". International Slavery Museum. Archived from the original on December 16, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  17. Foley, Ryan (November 17, 2020). "Exodus Cry responds after Melissa McCarthy withdraws support over 'homophobic,' 'anti-choice' views". The Christian Post. Archived from the original on December 23, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
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