Re: traci lords
Porn execs had to be dumb as fuck back then.
So were the Feds. They gave her a passport that said she was legal.
Not really, today people can have their identity stolen or completely create one out of thin air and it was even easier then.
The reason no one noticed at first was there was no reason too. She did nothing to make them suspect or give them cause to investigate at first. The only real reason they did start to investigate and start to suspect things was because of the success of the industry it's self. This underground business was getting to big too successful.
They knew that there was other things going off within some areas of the industry too. Drugs, guns and many other crimes was suspected to be connected to the early porn industry. Even the act itself was really still illegal. So they was raiding shoots and productions everywhere.
Then along came this new superstar that was taking the industry into the mainstream eye which they didn't want. This is when they decided to take a closer look at Traci Lords. To find out not everything rang true with who she said she was.
They say that she nearly ruined the business. But think about it, she made it even more infamous in a way. Yes she might have caused it a lot of problems, most for the better if you look at it in the long run. But there not many people between the ages of 25 - 60 or so that don't know who Traci Lords is and what she did in terms of make adult films and photoshoots.
It re-enforced the identity checking of the want to be adult star. Also creating sterner laws against minors being used in any sexual way under the age of 18 on film.
So in some ways the industry should be great full that she came along. It might not have been the advertising they wanted, but it was free advertising and people wanted to see what the fuss was about. Plus it brought it into line with rules and laws to what they can and can't do within the industry. Instead of it been run in little seedy places around the world. It's now on high streets brightly lit and one of the biggest industries in the world.