LOS ANGELES — Moe “the Monster” Johnson claims he was hoodwinked into performing in a racist adult scene that depicts his white co-star calling him the N-word without his consent, according to a new lawsuit.
Johnson, who is black, claims in the suit that the hate speech was used during a Dogfart shoot in the San Fernando Valley suburb of Tarzana.
Johnson, according to the suit, said that Dogfart director James Joseph Camp III tried and failed on two separate occasions during the production to get his approval for use of the N-word.
Another performer on the set, according to the suit, was female adult star Ryan Conner, who was his co-star.
Johnson said he "made it very clear that he would not allow this racial slur to be used," according to the nine-page complaint filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Despite Johnson’s refusal to approve the N-word, the co-starring performer allegedly addressed him with the slur twice during the scene’s money shot, the suit said.
“Give me that n----- load. Oh yeah, give me all that n----- cum," the co-starring performer is heard saying in the audio portion of the movie.
Johnson told the New York Daily News, which first reported the story, that he felt ambushed after the shoot.
"I just felt violated and betrayed," Johnson said. "I've shot over 50 scenes for this company. For a long time, I was one of their top guys. And I'm always publicly talking about racism. For them to even ask me was an insult, then to do it against my will, it hurts. It feels like it was a set up.”
Johnson said Camp and Dogfart’s owner, Cable Christopher Rosenberg, promised to edit out the racial slurs but never did. The defendants published and began selling the film in December, according to the court filing.
Hailing from New York, Johnson got his start in the adult biz in 2009 when a few of his homemade videos began streaming on Hoodflixxx.com.
By 2015, Johnson started getting roles in numerous adult productions and was honored at the 2nd annual BBC conference for his monster BBC. Later, he started up membership site MoeTheMonster.com.
Johnson, who is suing for fraud, negligence and failure to prevent racial harassment, claims in the suit that "Camp and [Dogfart] defrauded [Johnson] for the purpose of creating and selling racist content to its racist customers” and that the studio knowingly created a "work environment" that was "hostile and racially abusive."
Johnson “was subjected to unwanted, severe and pervasive racial harassment and abuse by Camp because he is an African American,” the suit said. “When [Johnson] complained, [Dogfart] failed to adequately investigate Camp's behavior, failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent the harassment, and did not investigate or discipline Camp in response to [Johnson’s] complaints.”
Johnson filed a formal complaint with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing and received a right-to-sue letter yesterday.
He is seeking damages for lost wages and emotional distress, as well as attorney’s fees.
Johnson has tapped attorney Dan Gilleon for the case. Gilleon also represents adult star Nikki Benz in her sexual battery lawsuit against Brazzers, Tony T and Ramon Nomar.
Gilleon told XBIZ today that use of N-word in the workplace “is considered by courts, and decent people, as the most offensive racial slur there can be.”
“It embodies the evil of racism,” Gilleon said. “Unfortunately, Dogfart makes a lot of money catering to racists, so they were willing to dupe Moe into performing this scene knowing Ryan Conner planned to use this vulgar language.
“We hope this lawsuit sends a loud and clear signal to all employers that they will pay a steep price for promoting racism in the workplace.”
XBIZ attempts to reach Camp and Rosenberg were not immediately successful.
Asked for comment on Johnson's civil lawsuit, the Free Speech Coalition's Eric Paul Leue told XBIZ: "It doesn't matter if it's a sex act, a scene partner, or a gross and derogatory slur. Nothing on set should happen without the performer's awareness or consent."