Mia Khalifa has shared how much money she earned in the adult entertainment industry before retiring.
The 31-year-old, who now goes by her real name Sarah Joe Chamoun, took the adult film world by storm in 2014.
Despite only staying in the business for a few months, her time was incredibly impactful as she rose through the rankings and eventually became one of the most-viewed stars in the world after filming 11 adult movies.
One of her most controversial scenes was when she wore a hijab while performing sexual acts alongside Sean Lawless and Julianna Vega. As a result of sexualizing the religious head garment, Chamoun was subjected to intense backlash and death threats.
The Lebanon-born performer's videos have generated billions of views, which means she must've been making so much money right?
Well, that's actually not the case as she disclosed on social media that she only earned $12,000 (approximately $1,000 per shoot), during her short stint in the industry.
"People think Iām racking in millions from porn. Completely untrue," she wrote on X (formerly Twitter) in 2019. "I made a TOTAL of around $12,000 in the industry and never saw a penny again after that. Difficulty finding a normal job after quitting porn was... scary."
Khalifa said in a follow-up tweet: "To clarify, I was never promised 'millions', nor do I expect it. Iām just clarifying common misconceptions about me, and in turn, about the industry.
"I was involved in porn so briefly, but my actions spread like wildfire, and I continue to be ranked (truly baffles me) 5 years after leaving the industry. This is why people think I still perform," she added.
Chamoun also confirmed to The Washington Post in 2019 that she does not get residuals from P**nhub or other similar explicit sites.
Last year, the former adult star revealed during an episode of Steven Bartlett's Diary Of A CEO podcast that her "abusive" relationship when she was in her late teens was the driving factor behind her getting into adult film.
Her then-husband, who was in the US Army at the time, presented the world of adult film to her and encouraged it. She now describes the relationship as "grooming" and that she was his "toy to play with".
Since leaving the adult film industry, Khalifa has explored careers in sports hosting, television producing, social media influencing, and webcam modeling.
