Maitland Ward reveals reality of porn career

Former Boy Meets World star Maitland Ward opened up about her life as a porn star - and the reactions she got from other Hollywood stars, in a new op-ed for The Daily Beast.

Ward, 45, stared as Rachel McGuire in Boy Meets World from 1998 to the show's end in 2000.

Fans were surprised when Ward decided to pivot her career from acting to adult films but Ward says she was looking for a longterm career she was passionate about.

"I wasn’t trying to copycat [Paris or Kim] and get a quick fifteen minutes," Ward wrote. "I wanted a long-term commitment doing something I loved and that I could be proud of. I wanted years. And that’s something mainstream Hollywood has long denied me."

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Unfortunately for Ward, the fallout of her decision has led to criticisms from the public and uncomfortable run-ins with other Hollywood stars.

In her piece for The Daily Beast, Ward says some well-known people in Hollywood began shunning her after she began staring in adult films while other people tried to take advantage of her new career.

"It’s so disheartening to me that grown, intelligent men can’t feel comfortable enough in their own skin to be friends with a sex worker," Ward wrote.

"As if me being in porn now changed who I was as a person. That my value is virtue. I am not alone in this; this is something sex workers deal with on a daily basis."

Ward opened up more about her life as a pornstar in her new memoir, Rated X.

But Ward's experience does not seem to be unique to her. Other pornstars like Damian Oliver have said they faced similar realities when interacting with people outside the sex industry.

Sex workers, including porn stars, are subject to intense judgement from the public due to the nature of their careers.

One adult film star's wife revealed their family and friends judge her for being married to a pornstar.

Advocacy groups like the Sex Workers Project work to educate the public and end violence and stigma against sex workers.

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