Pornhub announced a new project that recreates classic artworks in a porn context earlier this month, and the Louvre in Paris, France is planning to sue.
“Classic Nudes” was launched with the intention of encouraging Pornhub users to visit some of the most iconic art museums in the world. Offering a virtual tour of museums that include the Louvre, the MET, the Prado, the Uffizi Gallery, and the National Gallery, the project also includes pornographic recreations of sexually charged works on display in these museums.
“There’s a treasure trove of erotic art around the world—depicting nudes, orgies, and more—that’s not available on Pornhub," said Pornhub brand ambassador Asa Akira. "These pre-internet art pieces are currently sitting in museums, which we are now finally able to start visiting again as covid restrictions are starting to lift. So as people start to head back to The Louvre or The MET, they can simply open Classic Nudes, and I’ll be their guide. Time to ditch those boring self-tour recordings and enjoy every single brushstroke of these erotic masterpieces with me."
The Daily Beast reports that the Louvre in particular is not too pleased about the project. "Pornhub has heard from our lawyers," a spokesperson for the Louvre said. "We expect the works to be removed at once.”
The Louvre is one of two museums included in the project that intend to file lawsuits against the streaming porn site.
"No one has granted authorizations for the operation or use of the art," a spokesperson for the Uffizi in Italy said. "In Italy, the cultural heritage code provides that in order to use images of a museum, compressed works for commercial purposes, it is necessary to have the permission, which regulates the methods and sets the relative fee to be paid. All this obviously if the museum grants the authorization which, for example, would hardly have been issued in this case."
