The celebrity sex tape craze: Is it finally dead?

How Teen Mom's Farrah Abraham may have finally killed this problematically persistent trend

Farrah Abraham
(Image credit: Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for GBK)

In 1997, Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee unwittingly transformed celebrity pop culture when they filmed themselves having sex on a boat.

Of course, they didn't expect that the tape would be stolen and distributed as Pamela and Tommy Lee: Hardcore and Uncensored. But undeniably, "the modern, mass-market celebrity sex tape" was born, writes Maureen O'Connor at New York. Since then, the celebrity sex tape has flourished, with contributions from public figures as far-ranging as former vice presidential nominee John Edwards and McSteamy Eric Dane and wife Rebecca Gayheart. For some celebrities, like Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian, sex tapes managed to enhance and arguably even launch their careers in the spotlight.

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Emily Shire is chief researcher for The Week magazine. She has written about pop culture, religion, and women and gender issues at publications including Slate, The Forward, and Jewcy.