Because childhood is an integral time to make sure that kids know celebrities are just like normal people, only prettier and more important, Emerson Elementary School in Compton decided to invite a celebrity in to read to the kids. Yay! Except it turns out that celebrity was porn star-turned-Entourage star Sasha Grey, which I’m sure no one had a problem wi – oh, wait, no, now the parents are pissed and the school is denying the whole affair, except whoops! TMZ has the pictures to prove it.
TMZ has obtained photos of Sasha reading children’s books at Emerson Elementary School in Compton on November 2nd … participating in the Read Across America program. Grey, who hasn’t done porn in 2 years, may have been invited because she’s mainstream now, with credits which include Entourage. Sasha tweeted about the experience — calling the students the “sweetest” ever. However, not everyone saw it that way … some angry parents complained to the PTA — who then contacted the school’s principal … but there’s one problem. A rep for the school district is flatly denying Sasha was ever inside one of its classrooms — telling TMZ, “We have several celebrities who read to our students each year. The actress you have indicated [Sasha] was not present.”
All right, here’s where I stand on the issue: First off, unless these kids have the worst parents ever, none of them really know who Sasha Grey is, or what porn is for that matter. Second, Sasha is a FORMER porn star. Look, being a sex worker is nothing to be ashamed of, although you’re right that kids deserve to be kids and should probably avoid porn until they’re old enough to understand their own sexuality. If Grey were still a porn star? Sure, I’d say she probably shouldn’t be going in reading to little kids. But she’s an actress now, not a porn star. To put this in perspective, your kids probably can’t even make it three blocks without seeing ads for one of Kim Kardashian‘s shows, and the only reason she’s famous is because she let Ray J piss on her. I know these parents only want the best for their kids, but getting huffy over Sasha reading a picture book seems like, at best, a rather meaningless, arbitrary hill to die on. And you know what? Good for her for taking time out to promote literacy to kids. Considering most of them don’t read anything that isn’t posted on their Facebook wall, she should be commended for actually teaching kids that books still exist.