Mia Khalifa Reveals How Infamous Video Still Affects Her Relationships 12 Years Later

Mia Khalifa has spoken openly about how her decision to appear in a controversial pornographic video continues to shape parts of her life more than a decade later.

Back in 2014, the Lebanese-American content creator appeared in a sexually explicit video while wearing a hijab. The scene quickly caused outrage and sparked strong reactions across many parts of the world.

The video pushed Khalifa into global notoriety. At the time she was just 21 years old, and the attention that followed included death threats from ISIS and a complete break in her relationship with members of her family.

Twelve years later, her short period working in the adult industry remains the thing most people associate with her name.

During a recent conversation with Adam Friedland on his YouTube series The Adam Friedland Show, Khalifa explained that the fallout from that moment still affects her personal life even today.

"So at that moment I still thought that no one was ever going to find out about this," she explained on the show.

"I think the way it happened was very circumstantial," she continued, pointing to how several major cultural events were happening at the same time, including the #MeToo movement and the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack in January 2015, which all collided with the moment the video was circulating online.

The 33-year-old's appearance in an explicit video changed her life overnight Edward Berthelot/GC Images

"There was a lot of social things going on that that really were the reason why I was a part of that and why it kind of exploded the way it did... Everything happened very quickly."

Despite Khalifa — whose real name is Sarah Joe Chamoun — believing that her brief involvement in the industry would never reach her parents, the level of global attention made that impossible.

The videos featuring her quickly gathered hundreds of millions of views on PornHub. Her name remained one of the most searched performers on the platform for years afterward, meaning the controversy stayed tied to her public identity for a long time.

Because of that attention, it became extremely difficult for the now 33-year-old to move on quietly from that chapter of her life.

Her parents soon released a public statement criticizing her actions. Khalifa later told Friedland that the situation led to a long period of estrangement between them.

The attention surrounding the video also followed her into everyday life. When she later worked as a bookkeeper at a construction company, she said the notoriety made her feel like a burden to colleagues and affected how people treated her.

The experience also shaped how she approaches relationships. Khalifa explained that she now struggles with trust, particularly when it comes to romantic partners.

Because of that, she revealed that she has only been in two long-term relationships over the last decade.

She explained how the infamous video has led to a distrust in potential partners YouTube/TAFS Clips

"I can't even like mentally get past somebody wanting to be with me for the novelty or for that reason. So, I'd much rather just be alone," she said.

"I've been in two long-term relationships since then and that's that's it in the in the last 10 years."

"There was a lot of instances where I had interactions with people [and] realised, wow, my life is not the same."

She now wants to control her own image Instagram/miakhalifa

This is not the first time Khalifa has spoken openly about the long-term impact her brief time in the adult industry had on her life.

In recent years, she has made a clear effort to shift her career in a different direction and distance herself from the image that made her famous.

She has launched a jewelry business, attended several Paris Fashion Week events, and built a large following as a social media influencer.

One of her main income sources today is OnlyFans. When explaining why she chose to join the platform, Khalifa emphasized that being in control of her content and body was an important factor for her.

"I don't do nudity past what I've done in a fashion magazine, which is like a see-through shirt or something," she told The New York Times in 2024, adding: "So I feel secure."