She’s a Marvin Gaye song come to life: Mikaela Spielberg is speaking out about appearing in porn, saying her work in the sex industry has been “healing” for her.
The 24-year-old adopted daughter of legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg, 73, and his actress wife Kate Capshaw, 66, made headlines in February when she was jailed for domestic abuse following a clash with then-fiancé and pro dart player Chuck Pankow, who is 27 years her senior.
The charges were later dropped after successfully completing court-ordered counseling sessions.
The news of her arrest came several days after the public learned that she had launched a career as an independent pornographer on the internet, producing solo videos of her erotic performances from her home in Nashville, Tennessee.
In a new interview with the Daily Beast, the adult webcam actress said her work has been “life-affirming.”
“I felt like had I not done the work I needed to do on myself, and on my relationships, I would have been dead within the year,” she said.
Spielberg has previously been open about her struggles with anxiety, depression, substance abuse and finding herself on the brink of homelessness. Reps for her iconic “E.T.” and “Schindler’s List” director dad have yet to respond to requests for comment.
However, earlier this year, she claimed her high-profile parents were “intrigued” by her new career path — and expressed hopes they would be proud of how she bounced back from a drinking problem that almost took her life “a couple of times” after she turned 21.
“I actually think that once they see how far I’ve come from the bottom I was at a year and a half ago, they’re going to look at this and go, ‘Wow, we actually raised a really self-assured young lady,’ ” she said in February. “My safety has always been a number one priority for them. I’m not doing this out of an urge to hurt anyone or to be spiteful.”
Eight months and one global COVID-19 pandemic later: “I’m in the middle of a healing journey,” Spielberg told The Daily Beast. “About two years ago, I was at my worst.”
The aspiring professional exotic dancer also talked about refining her work on adult content platform ManyVids, which she maintains is “online and dance-only” and “not full-service,” though she did not elaborate on what’s included in her partial service channel. (Full disclosure: Online fans report that it involves full nudity and various sex toys.)
“I’ve learned that I do not enjoy hardcore content personally,” she explained. “Whatever you decide to make is your decision, but I enjoy soft content and passion content.”
The biracial millennial also spoke to issues concerning the nation right now, particularly racism and human rights, adding that the “housing crisis needs to be tackled … speaking from personal experiences.”
Growing up with two white parents, she said, “Racial self-acceptance has been a huge part of my journey.” She later added, “I’ll put it this way: You could have all the love in the world and still be incredibly lonely. And that’s all I’m going to say about it out of respect for everyone I know.”
Spielberg also reflected on news coverage of her arrest in February in harrowing terms.
“I almost feel I can’t speak on the actual events because that would put my safety in jeopardy, but I can say that I feel I was made into this spooky media caricature of what we don’t want in society,” she said. “I felt almost like a racialist caricature of a Jew or a black woman in those moments, because I maintained my innocence that entire time. And that’s all I can say about it.”
