posted on The Daily Campus.com: Tuesday night, backstage at Jorgensen, I was able to briefly sit down with pornography legend Ron Jeremy following his debate with recovering sex addict Michael Leahy.

DC: What is it like to be the greatest pornstar of all time (according to Adult Video News)?

Ron Jeremy: It’s nice. They made Jenna Jameson No. 2 – she’s still pissed about it. It’s a nice honor though. My dad always told me, “If you’re going to do something, be the best at it.” If you’re a shoeshine guy, be the best shoeshiner ever.

DC: Are you surprised by your huge success, both in the porn world and in the mainstream?

RJ: I’m not surprised [by my success in the adult industry]. I’ve worked hard for it – 28 years. [My mainstream success] was a bit of a shock. You know, when I first got into porn, it was men in raincoats in the theatres. Even today, most of my recognition is not from porn. “Boondock Saints,” for example. I went to Variety Magazine, and they told me that more people saw me on “The Surreal Life” than in every film I’ve ever made in my entire life – 25 million viewers. So you can’t compare that to porn. And these were women and children that were seeing me. Or how about music videos. More kids knew me from [the music video for] that Sublime song than from any porn film I ever did. So things like that got me really well known. Also, doing Kid Rock videos. But if you just do porn, you’ll be like Peter North or Randy West. You don’t get recognition as much – especially the guys.

DC: Who is the best actress you’ve ever worked with?

RJ: Your mom. I love that question. Seriously, I like Christy Canyon and Tabitha Stevens.

DC: Who do you think are the most exciting up and coming male and female performers?

RJ: Your mom and dad. OK, no. For males, I’d say Tommy Gunn and Evan Stone. For females, hands down, Sunny Lane.

DC: What do you say to critics who purport that the pornography industry degrades women (or causes men to objectify women)?

RJ: We’re all sex objects. I happen to know that’s my penis when I look at my jewelry. “Oh yeah, that’s my [penis] in there.” They’re sex movies, how couldn’t there be sex objects? We’re there to turn on an audience. We’re objectifying what? Because we pop on the face? A girl could pop on my face, I don’t care. And some of the girls can squirt nowadays (chuckles). So what’s objectifying? We’re having sex. We’re having sex. Why’s that objectifying? We’re having sex; it’s a sex movie. We’re all naked.

DC: Last semester, there was an incident here at UConn in which three intoxicated male students allegedly watched pornography and then ejaculated on a passed out female student’s face. What would you say to someone who blames pornography – and specifically bukkake or facial ejaculation – for this incident and incidents like it?

RJ: We’ve never done that. That’s never been shown in a porn film while they’re sleeping. I’ve been in the business 20 years, and never saw it, never been a part of it and never will be a part of it.

DC: But how would you respond to someone that says pornography promotes this sort of behavior?

RJ: What, because they see guys pop on her face when she’s awake? Then the guys figure they can do it while she’s sleeping? Come on. Look, porn isn’t trying to be socially redeeming. We’re not going to lie and say we’re being very conscious of these things. We’re not – it’s entertainment. But if you’re going to blame porn for that, think very carefully about this one. If someone takes a Smith and Wesson and says “Make my day” and shoots someone in the head, are you going to blame Clint Eastwood? I have articles up to the ceiling about someone committing a crime and saying they got it from an R-rated movie. You know? “Scream,” all these films. And the film executives always get dragged to court and have to show it’s just not fair and that there is freedom of speech. And they’re right, it’s not fair. It never stuck to them. So why should we get blamed? Because we’re [consenting] adults?

DC: In recent years, the record industry has claimed that the Internet filesharers who illegally download copyrighted music have been hurting their business. In their attempt to combat this alleged widespread piracy, the industry has responded by filing lawsuits against the downloaders. Has the popularity of Peer2Peer filesharing hurt the porn industry as well? If so, why hasn’t the industry filed a slew of lawsuits like the record industry?

RJ: Judges won’t help us out. We have pirating constantly and all over the country. People think “Awe, it’s just porn – [screw] those filmmakers.” I mean, the porn industry takes a beating and people won’t defend it. How many times have they prosecuted a company in some little city in Oklahoma, and the people want to see porn, but they’re not going to rise up and defend it like they would for “Save the Whales” or the dolphins or whatever. Everyone knows that people will watch porn, but not defend porn. As [former pornstar] Gloria Leonard said on Ron Reagan Jr.’s show, “Don’t complain when Big Brother comes to your door and collects your penis.” If you’re not going to defend the fact that you have one, [don’t complain when it gets taken away]. Right now, no one gives a [damn]. Yet if these people lost all their porn and couldn’t see it anymore, then they’d care.

DC: Recently, I’ve seen some of your advertisements for PeTA. What got you involved with them and what have you done with them?

RJ: They asked me. It was a cute idea. They have me, the porn star, on the bed with the handcuffs and saying, “Too much sex is a bad thing. Spay and neuter your cats and dogs.” The problem is, people keep killing animals at the pound and no one stops them because these idiots keep letting their animals have kids. These people think, “It’s OK, I have a place for one or two of the kittens or the dogs.” Yeah, one or two of them. But with a litter of six, some of them end up in the street. It’s horrible. So it’s good advice – spay and neuter your animals.

Besides, it got me close to that Pam Anderson and Paul McCartney.

DC: Finally, what did you hope to accomplish in tonight’s debate against Michael Leahy?

RJ: To get a chance to sign some boobs! I’m kidding. I love to present contrasting viewpoints. I like what [Leahy] does. I have no problem with that. I even debate this guy from the “Triple-X Church.” He wants to totally outlaw porn and he actually goes into the porn business and tries to convert girls out of porn and into Christianity. But I like what these guys do. I’m glad they do what they do. I like being kept in check. This business can be pretty stupid sometimes. I’ll defend it. But there are some things that annoy me about the business. What I hope to do is contrast his opinions. I want to hear his points and then debate the points he brings up.

Basically, what I hope to accomplish is to let people feel okay about themselves watching an adult movie. As long as you’re doing what you’ve got to do – you’re making ends meet, you’re accomplishing goals. If you’re a student whose mom and dad are putting you through college, make them proud and get good grades. But watch porn at night if you want to. Just don’t fail school. [Leahy] let porn affect the rest of his life – don’t let that happen to you. Continue with the rest of your life.

DC: All right Ron, thanks for the opportunity to talk with you.