Mia Khalifa Reacts to Being 'Slut-Shamed'

Mia Khalifa has hit out at a social media user slut-shaming her online.

The former adult film star was responding to a resurfaced video, in which she recounts a harrowing experience with a fan and his girlfriend.

In 2021, Khalifa appeared on Youtuber Anthony Padilla's I Spent a Day With... show. When asked about a negative interaction that stood out to her, the 30-year-old recalled the time a couple approached her in a restaurant, with the pair's behavior leaving her in tears.

A man asked Khalifa for a picture during a business meeting. The Lebanese-American actress declined, telling the fan "no, we're eating."

"It was a rude way to [respond]," Khalifa confesses. "But it was also very rude for him to come up while someone was actively in the middle of a conversation."

In response to Khalifa's rejection, the man's girlfriend grabbed him by the arm and dragged him away.

"I told you that wasn't her, there's not enough c** on her face. Let's go babe," the woman reportedly said as they left. After the incident, Khalifa "went to the bathroom and cried."

"I didn't really know how to handle it," a teary-eyed Khalifa told Padilla. "Especially as it came from a woman and especially because I was there for business. It was something that had nothing to do with the adult industry."

She continued: "I was just very dejected and embarrassed, and felt like they would never want to work with me again."

Although the interview with Padilla was three years ago, the clip resurfaced on X, formerly Twitter, after being shared by user @JumbleBag.

"This Mia Khalifa roast is wild," the account wrote alongside the snippet. The post has been viewed over 42 million times.

"Proof that you can leave the industry but the industry never leaves you," they added in the comments, along with an photo of the star.

Many users joined @JumbleBag in slut-shaming Khalifa, including @kiraowntmiss, who reposted the video with the caption: "Breaking news: Actions have consequences."

However, a number of fans also jumped in to defend the model.

"Getting slut-shamed and harassed in public because you did porn seven years ago is not 'actions having consequences,'" @mattxiv replied to @kirawontmiss's post, asking the user: "What are you on?"

Seeming to appreciate the support, Khalifa shared @mattxiv's comment with her 5.7 million followers. However, she added a brief correction, changing the "seven years ago" to "*10 years ago."

Newsweek has reached out to Mia Khalifa for comment via Instagram and email.

Khalifa first became involved in porn in 2014. The then-21-year-old quickly became an industry heavyweight, becoming one of PornHub's most-searched stars in just two months.

She ended her career in 2015 after less than a year and has since spoken out against the adult film industry, claiming she only made $12,000 for her work.

In an interview with life coach Megan Abbott in 2019, Khalifa said that porn traps "women legally into contracts when they're vulnerable."

Alongside her work as a social media influencer, Khalifa has moved into sports commentary. She has also recently become a fashion world darling, walking the runway for brands Acne Studios, KNWLS, Bluemarble and Off-White during Paris Fashion week in June.

She was also spotted front-row at a number of high-profile shows during London and Milan's fashion weeks, including Moschino, Louis Vuitton and Saint Laurent.

Discussing the trolling she receives in a recent interview with Vogue India, Khalifa said she takes the online abuse "in her stride."

"Adversity builds character," she told the outlet in December. "I tell myself I have made it through a lot worse. It's mostly a mental thing. For the parts that aren't, they make beta blockers."

"Life doesn't get hard when it's about to get easier," she added. "It gets hard when things are changing for the better."

Although Khalifa has successfully transitioned to a mainstream career, the star has also faced backlash in recent months due to her comments on the Israel-Hamas war.

On October 7, the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Southern Israel, killing 1,200 people. Israel subsequently fired airstrikes on Gaza, where Hamas is based, before launching a ground offensive into the territory.

As of January 23, over at least 25,000 Gazans have been killed, while 85 percent of the area's 2.3 million population has been made homeless, according to the Associated Press.

After news of the October 7 attack broke, Khalifa, whose family was displaced by the south Lebanon conflict in 2000, shared her thoughts on social media.

"Can someone please tell the freedom fighters in Palestine to flip their phones and film horizontal," she wrote on X, sparking uproar.

As a result of the remarks, Khalifa lost her podcasting deal with Playboy and was fired as an adviser by Red Light Holland, a company that produces and dispenses magic mushrooms.