Mia Khalifa Controversy Growing as Critics Slam Lebanese Porn Star, Mia Khalifa, a Lebanese-American porn star, is at the center of an international controversy after being named as the industry's top actress by one adult website.
Since gaining more exposure with her X-rated videos — one in which she's filmed performing a sex act while wearing a hijab — Khalifa has received death threats and strong criticism from Lebanon, where the 21-year-old was born, the Daily Mail reported.
Khalifa is now the most searched for actress on the website PornHub, the newspaper said. Critics have complained about her wearing of Muslim religious clothing, while others object to her tattoos, many of which refer to her Lebanese heritage.
Khalifa moved with her family to the United States when she was about 10, Newsweek said. Her family has denounced her.
"No one in my family is speaking to me," Khalifa said recently, according to Newsweek.
She has responded via Twitter to negative media about her in Lebanon.Khalifa also has expressed remorse about the widespread attention she has gotten and how it has affected her family.
"I’ve dragged their name through the mud," she said, according to Newsweek. "I feel guilty for dragging them into this and having all their friends know now that it’s on Lebanese media. But that was never my intention."
Married and living in Florida, Khalifa has lost contact with her family members, who issued a statement about the controversy, CNN reported.
"We are probably paying the price of living away from our homeland; our kids had to adapt to societies that don't resemble our culture, traditions, and values," the family statement said. "Hence, we emphasize that we disassociate ourselves from her actions which do not reflect her family beliefs, her upbringing or her true Lebanese roots. We hope that she comes back to her senses as her image does not honor her family or her homeland — Lebanon."
