Would you believe if we were to tell you that a porn star was raped by her former boyfriend? Given the contemptuous attitude that people have towards sex workers, many of them would take this statement lightly and rather make a mockery out of it.

But, as a matter of fact, any sexual intercourse occurring WITHOUT CONSENT qualifies to be a rape. And porn stars aren’t an exception to this.

Two days back, adult film star Stoya posted a series of tweets on her account accusing ex-boyfriend and fellow porn star James Deen of rape.

That thing where you log in to the internet for a second and see people idolizing the guy who raped you as a feminist. That thing sucks.

— Stoya (@stoya)

James Deen held me down and fucked me while I said no, stop, used my safeword. I just can’t nod and smile when people bring him up anymore. — Stoya (@stoya)

And as may have been expected, there was an upsurge of tweets in response to the above ones. What’s unexpected is how positively people reacted and how staunchly they put forward their support. … So much so, that they coined a new hashtag #SolidarityWithStoya

No means no. No matter what job you do. No matter if he’s your partner. No matter how many times you’ve said yes. — Laurie Penny (@PennyRed)

And I cannot help but think how true this very tweet here is.

because rape isn’t always committed by some stranger in an alley, usually it’s someone you know, loved and trusted

— Cosmo (@CosN0)

This is the only crime we place such a profound amount of doubt on when people, overwhelmingly women, share their story

— Sam Escobar (@myhairisblue)

Wondering what the accused had to say to this? Read.

No comment A photo posted by James Deen (@therealjamesdeen) on Nov 29, 2015 at 5:05pm PST

And this is not just it. The support Stoya has been receiving isn’t limited to social media. Here’s what Amelia McDonell-Parry, the editor of a women’s website: The Frisky responded to the situation:

“As is the case with the vast majority of rape accusations, especially between intimate partners, Stoya’s story of being raped by James Deen is very likely the only “evidence”… The court of public opinion is not a court of law, and I don’t need Stoya or any woman to “prove” that she has been raped for me to believe her. Women who come out as rape victims are far, far, far too often not believed.”

Amelia has also decided to stop James Deen’s sex advice column in her magazine.

“Victims are put on trial themselves, with everything they’ve ever said/done/worn suddenly under scrutiny as possible ‘evidence’ that they are lying or that they asked for it. I BELIEVE WOMEN. Period,” she added.

Just as Stoya revealed that she had been sexually abused by James Deen, two other women followed suit and made their revelations of their assault. Surprisingly, or not so surprisingly, the accused in these two cases as well was James Deen.

“While James wasn’t performing with me that day, he was present on set—and almost immediately after I’d finished my scene he began to antagonize me. I hadn’t even had time to dress myself when he said, with a smirk on his face, “Tori Lux, would you like to sniff my testicles?” “Nope,” I replied in a neutral tone. “I’ll repeat myself: Tori Lux, would you like to sniff my testicles?” he asked, more aggressively this time. I replied with a firm “No,” in order to establish my boundary—which James then disregarded by grabbing me by the throat and shoving me down onto a mattress on the floor.

He proceeded to straddle my chest, pinning down my arms with his knees. Then, he raised his hand high above his head, swinging it down and hitting me in the face and head with an open palm. He did this five or six times—hard—before finally getting off of me.

Disoriented and nursing a sore jaw, I stood up—but before I could collect myself, he grabbed me by my hair and shoved me to my knees, forcing my face into his crotch several times before shoving me to the floor.” – said former porn actress Tori Lux

“The reason I put him on my ‘no list’ was because he almost raped me. The only time I’d ever seen this guy, he walked into the green room at Kink [studios], picks up Jessie Cox like a caveman, grabs her by the hair, and takes her off somewhere… and I can only imagine. …Later on that night, I was getting out of the shower of the communal bathroom at Kink, I reach for my towel to dry off, and he comes up from behind me and pushes himself and his erection into my butt. He pushes me against the sink and starts grabbing on me and I was like, ‘No, no, no James, no,’ and he released me from his grasp, and says, ‘You know, later if you want to fuck around I’m in room whatever-it-was. I was like, ‘Fuck you.’ I didn’t even know this guy, he was so out of line and entitled with my body.” – said adult actress Ashley Fires.

We express #SolidarityWithStoya for inspiring women to not be quiet. To speak up.

The tide is turning. Women are no longer prepared to be silent about powerful men in their industry who are abusers.

— Laurie Penny (@PennyRed)