Adult Star Sharok Makes Unplanned Protest at Paris Fashion Week
Ruggedly handsome adult male star Sharok started performing when he was 19, but didn't feel he fit in the industry because of his Middle Eastern background. The 37-year-old performer, model, and activist describes himself as a cross between Turkish and Iranian.
"I didn't feel like there was a space for anybody besides White, Black or Latino men. It just wasn't the right time for me so I quickly made my exit and didn't return until 2018," he told Instinct in a 2021 interview.
But upon his return, he quickly became one of the most sought after in the industry, making some 50 films, as well as during the pandemic starting an enormously successful OnlyFans.
And he has embraced his heritage, telling Instinct: "I get literally hundreds of messages from people from the Middle East and other parts of the world who stress how vital it is to see someone who looks like me in it to them. This is more important than just me making porn."
He also is very outspoken on political and social issues, as his Twitter account attests.
And recently, he made headlines during Paris Fashion Week with his impromptu protest against LGBTQ+ persecution in Iran. During the LGN Louis-Gabriel Nouchi runway show Sharok "took to the catwalk while holding up a sign that read 'STOP EXECUTIONS IN IRAN.' According to the star, this move was entirely his own idea and designer Louis-Gabriel Nouchi wasn't made aware of the message beforehand," The Sword reported.
"He actually had no idea I was going to do that," Sharok told Out.com. "I specifically wanted to do the show so that it would give me that kind of platform to do it. That sounds a bit shady, but... it worked. I haven't spoken to him about it since but he had no idea I was going to do that. I did specifically unbutton my shirt to the point where you can see my tattoo that says "Women. Life. Freedom." And that was going to be the statement but I had written the sign and kept it in my bag up until the last moment. When the music was on and we were all in line and about to walk out, I was like, 'Fuck it, I'm going to do it.'"
He added that the response has been great with fashion publications. Vogue Italia and Vogue Poland posted it on their Instagram. "A lot of the Iranian news online posted it but of course they haven't tagged me because of the whole porn thing. Which is fine, because I don't really care, but it does kind of annoy me that even within my own community there's still a stigma when it comes to homosexuality, porn, and sex work."
He specifically addressed his reason for his protest by citing the recent spate of social protests in Iran. "Just the fact that there is a revolution going on and it was started by women. It has filtered down to every demographic within Iran. People are tired of living under a religious theocracy and they want change. It's been 43 years of this dictatorship. One of the biggest things people can do is post online and talk about it because a lot of the internet is being cut off or monitored there. So us bringing awareness to it is really our job as Iranians living outside of Iran."