WASHINGTON — The Washington Post published this weekend a lengthy feature about Pornhub and Aylo, focusing on Ethical Capital Partners VP of Compliance Solomon Friedman’s attendance and delivery of the keynote address at XBIZ Los Angeles in January.
Lieberman writes that Friedman, who co-founded private equity firm ECP to purchase Pornhub parent company MindGeek, “attended XBIZ to introduce himself to a skeptical audience whose livelihoods were initially wrecked by the site’s free content offerings.”
The Post feature describes Friedman wearing “rooster-printed socks peeking out from his New Balance sneakers” and standing by the water dispensers at the bar of XBIZ LA’s home base, the Kimpton Everly Hotel, “figuring out his place in all of this.”
For Friedman, Lieberman notes, “Porn isn’t the problem. It’s just that it peels away social niceties to reveal the human condition.”
Solomon told the reporter, “Pornography is a mirror and reflects society back at itself. So when people complain about porn, it’s like looking in the mirror, being unhappy and saying, ‘I gotta smash that mirror.’”
The article also includes interviews with Pornhub VP of Community and Brand Alex Kekesi and exec Sana Gaziani, both of whom also attended XBIZ LA.
Ultimately, the article reports, Friedman and the Aylo crew felt very welcome by the industry stakeholders at XBIZ LA. On its final day, Friedman told Lieberman that the conference went “better than expected.”
“This is a tough industry, but being here re-energized me,” he said. “You meet the real human beings.”
To read “Can Pornhub Be Ethical?” visit WashingtonPost.com.