Lovelace star Amanda Seyfried: 'Don't ban porn... to each his own'

 
Spot the star: Amanda Seyfried in a sheer polka dot Gaultier dress at The May Fair Hotel
Dave Benett
Emer Martin13 August 2013
The Weekender

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Actress Amanda Seyfried says porn should not be banned despite admitting she saw an adult film at her friend’s house when she was just six years old which was “really disturbing”.

Co-stars: Amanda Seyfried and Peter Sarsgaard at the special screening of Lovelace
PA

The Les Miserables star was in London last night promoting her new film, Lovelace. in which she plays celebrity porn star Linda Lovelace, famous for appearing in x-rated 1970s film Deep Throat.

The controversial film, which the 27-year-old actress has described as the “riskiest thing happening in Hollywood right now” opens as the UK prepares to face new controls on pornography available on the internet.

Real thing: Linda Lovelace in a scene from Deep Throat, taken from the documentary on the film Inside Deep Throat. The original was filmed in 1972

Last month David Cameron announced certain search terms would be blacklisted, illegal content would be blocked and access to pornography would be automatically restricted unless users chose to receive it.

But Seyfried said the public should be “free to watch whatever we want”.

Star: Amanda Seyfried at a screening of the new film last night

She said: “To each his own, really. A ban on porn? No, of course not. You can’t put a ban on anything. Kids underage are still drinking, it just makes it that much more powerful.

"[Porn] is always going to exist - it’s freedom, we should be free to be able to watch whatever we want.

Seyfried said the nudity in the movie was not an issue. "Everything is choreographed so you always feel safe," she said (Picture: PA)
PA

“In terms of how it is made, how it is produced, I think there is a lot of issues, some of it is produced and made in a way that is safe and positive and that’s a beautiful thing and why not.”

But the actress, who shot to stardom for her roles in family-friendly films Mean Girls and Mamma Mia! admitted she had watched porn as a child.

She said: “I saw some when I was six, which was really disturbing, involving a policeman.

“I was at my friend’s house and her parents weren’t home - they just weren’t around and the older brother, who I think was ten at the time, put this on and I was blown away.”

She added: “Have I ever enjoyed it? No.”

No fears: Seyfried said when she met Sarsgaard her reservations about the role vanished (Picture: Dave Benett)
Dave Benett

Wearing a sheer blue Gaultier dress and red lipstick, Seyfried explained she welcomed the controversial role.

She said: “I want to be playing people who are real people, because there is so much to learn about yourself - there is so much to dive into, so much to bite into.

“I kind of lost myself a little I think at one point, which was fun - I felt like a real actor. I’m not afraid of darkness.

Seyfried as Linda Lovelace in a poster for the new movie
Dave Benett
Linda Lovelace, in a shirtless morning dress, heads off for Royal Ascot in the Seventies (Picture: PA)
PA

Seyfried’s character, Lovelace, later broke free of the sex industry and worked to make sure other women were not exploited in the same way.

Asked whether she had experienced a “sex overdose” as she has promoted the film over the past weeks, Seyfried said: “I don’t mind talking about it, I think we should all be comfortable talking about it.”

Also appearing in the film are Sharon Stone, Juno Temple, Chloe Sevigny, Chris Noth, Adam Brody and James Franco, who plays Hugh Hefner.

Lovelace is released in cinemas on August 23.

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