This post was originally published on February 25, 2016.
For those who continue to argue that porn addiction isn’t real, you haven’t met former NFL player turned actor Terry Crews. In a recent series of videos posted to his Facebook page, the Brooklyn Nine-Nine star spilled the beans on his very real porn infatuation. His story is clearly hitting home with his fans and the public at large. A report from CNN confirms the videos have received almost three million views and over 10,000 comments since he posted them a couple weeks ago. According to Crews’ own account, his porn addiction definitely wasn’t in his head. In the selfie-style videos, entitled “Dirty Little Secrets,” Crews said, “I literally had to go to rehab for it.” Treatment facilities: they’re not just for drugs and alcohol anymore. But we kind of knew that already, right?
The Crews Confessional
Crews admitted to watching porn for hours on end (he references days turning into nights) and confessed to reducing humanity to its body parts. He explained, “People become objects. People become body parts; they become things to be used rather than people to be loved.”
As much as I support anyone’s right to watch naked people boning, he makes a good point. Sure, sex isn’t necessarily always a physical manifestation of deep love between two people but how far is too far when it comes to devaluing it? When someone starts to mainly associate sex with porn, which is fake and created purely for entertainment, doesn’t that take away some of the benefits one can reap from having it in real life (I think the kids are calling that “IRL”)?
Sexist Toward Watching Sex
Crews’ initial video got such an enormous outpouring of feedback, he created a second and third one attempting to field some of the commenters’ questions. (Not for nothing, we’ve fielded questions about this very topic on AfterParty Answers, too.)
What I find particularly interesting is Crews’ supposition that this issue only plagues men. In one of the follow up videos, Crews addressed his respondents: “Women, you need to be fearless. You need to confront your man about this problem.” Okay, Terry, I read you—the first step in addressing the problem is acknowledging it exists. But what about the husbands with wives locking themselves in the bathroom with a laptop and some James Deen on the screen? Ladies face this issue, too. Despite what many think, disorders and addictions generally associated with one gender or another aren’t necessarily limited to that gender. (Check out Patrick O’Neil‘s essays on his eating disorder for back up on that.)
The Consequences of Technology
Has the propensity for porn addiction always been a thing? Or has the 24/7, at-our-fingertips availability created this monster? I can’t imagine porn addiction could really have the legs to fester when the only form of it was a couple of copies of Playboy magazine. But I guess I shouldn’t put anything past the will of a person needing to get their fix, whether it’s booze, drugs or sex[ual fantasizing].
Although he doesn’t specify his exact sobriety date other than to say it’s been about seven years, Crews seems to be enjoying full, out-and-proud recovery now. The kind of confidence needed to proclaim a problem like this to the world as a public figure certainly doesn’t come quickly or easily. Of course the parameters for what constitutes sobriety with this particular problem are vague. While surely porn-sober folks don’t watch porn, as Crews says he hasn’t, where does one draw the line with that in prime time these days, amiright?!
Thankfully for Terry and his wife of 26 years, Rebecca King Crews, he’s on a sitcom so they can continue to watch that with ease. Side note, I’ll bet the FOX network isn’t complaining about the press this news is getting for Brooklyn Nine-Nine. As they say, any press is good press. As they also say, sex sells.
The post Terry Crews Was Addicted to Porn And Isn’t Afraid to Tell Us appeared first on Rehab Reviews.