Mia Khalifa reflects on Hijab scene: “I Accidentally Became Notorious”

Mia Khalifa opens up about the controversial hijab scene that led to her unexpected notoriety.

After being convinced to do an explicit scene while cosplaying as a Muslim woman, Mia Khalifa left the adult film industry, reflecting on her time spent working as a prostitute.

When the 21-year-old Lebanese-American sang in the viral video while wearing the hijab—a head covering and modest garment considered sacred by Muslim women—she instantly became well-known.

After being named the top actor on Pornhub, the video went global in a matter of hours, and Khalifa received death threats from both ISIS and Islamophobes.

Raised as a Catholic, Khalifa, now 31, remembers the incident and the reasons it led her to turn away from pornography.

“At first, I didn’t have much control over my brand,” she told the New York Times. “I accidentally became notorious.”

She clarified, “I started working in the adult industry in October 2014, and I was immediately pressured to appear in a video where I was an Arab woman wearing a veil.

“I carried out the plan to take advantage of the fact that I was Arabic and could speak Arabic. The avalanche began shortly after, perhaps a few hours after its broadcast.

Every news outlet covered it, and everyone had an opinion. I had total control over my reputation and appearance. Many people, in my opinion, go through sexy stages between the ages of 20 and 21. Unfortunately, mine was captured in 4K.

When the incident happened, Khalifa claims she heard “whispers in the waiting room” at her place of employment, a law firm.

She claimed that she had to change her job path to one as a social media influencer since she started to feel “uncomfortable” and “like a distraction.”

“I realized at that point that there was no chance for improvement or change,” she said. “I dislike the way the women I work with look at me, and I particularly dislike the way the men look at me because it’s like they’re observing a zoo animal.”

“I decided to try to be an influencer and a public figure if that was the fate I had sealed for myself, so I reopened social media.”