In what’s been nothing short of a fall from faith, rapper Kanye West, who once publicized an epic salvation story, has announced plans to start a pornography studio. Brittni De La Mora, a former porn star who has found freedom in Jesus, emphatically urged West in an episode of CBN’s “Faith vs. Culture.” She said, “No, don’t do it. I think that Kanye is such a creative genius. I believe that his gifts are given to him by God, and it’s devastating to see him wanting to use his gifts to serve Satan and not God. It’s really heartbreaking.”
West announced the venture, which he is reportedly launching with longtime pornographer Mike Moz, the ex-husband of adult film star Stormy Daniels, via X. The “Donda” rapper has since deleted his social media, seemingly in response to the intense backlash he’s faced over the news. Critics have wondered how West, who, in 2019, released his “Jesus Is King” album and began hosting what he dubbed “Sunday Services,” evangelistic events with Gospel music and messages, could launch a platform to produce and host pornographic content. He has also in the past opened up about being addicted to pornography from an early age after discovering one of his father’s “Playboy” magazines at just five years old.
He said in a past interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, “Playboy was my gateway into full-blown pornography addiction. My dad had a ‘Playboy’ left out at age 5, and it’s affected almost every choice I made for the rest of my life. From age 5 to now having to kick the habit. And it just presents itself in the open, like it’s OK. And I stand up and say, you know, it’s not OK.” De La Mora, who spent seven years in the pornography industry before coming to faith in Jesus, believes West’s dark turn harkens back to his exposure to and continued struggle with porn addiction.
She said, “It’s definitely taken a toll on him. That is so traumatic, for a five-year-old to see those types of images. And then the fact that it was left untreated, unprocessed. And so he continued watching pornography. And we know that studies show that pornography affects the brain the same way that cocaine does, so it releases the same dopamine in the receptors.” Much like drug addicts need to escalate their substance abuse over time in order to achieve the same high as their bodies become accustomed to their drug use, those consuming pornography commonly turn toward increasingly deviant content to achieve the same degree of arousal and satisfaction.
Ultimately, West’s reversion should serve, she urged, as a clarion call to Christians not to place their faith and hope in a person but to “keep our hope and our faith in God,” the one true source of redemption. “I was in the adult film industry for seven years,” De La Mora said. “I battled with massive addictions — heroin, cocaine, all kinds of things — and Jesus set me free through seeking Him every single day.”
West’s dramatic paradigm shift came, De La Mora believes, because He failed to trust God completely and was overcome by the weight of a burgeoning faith with the eyes of the world upon him. When God didn’t answer his prayers for reconciliation within his family, she said, West began doubting the Lord. Those seemingly “unanswered prayers” became “Satan’s gateway,” she asserted.