The Blu Kennedy Interview

By Tuck Manning  
Photos by Kevin McDermott, kevinmcdermott.com  

The most famous redhead in the gay porn industry, Blu Kennedy might have started out eight years ago as a ginger twink, but he’s all man these days. He’s known for giving consistently stellar performances, having appeared in a slew of films for Hot House Entertainment, Citiboyz, Falcon Studios and others. We sat down to talk with Kennedy about some of his experiences in front of and away from the camera. He also drops a pretty big bomb on us—it turns out that he’s done working in porn and has decided to call it quits. Read on to find out why he’s leaving the industry, which films were his favorite to shoot and which industry hunk he’s had a crush on for years.  

What was it that initially attracted you to the porn industry?
I wasn’t a very attractive teenager. I didn’t have a very good self-image, and porn was sort of a validation for me.  

Were you discovered, and if so, how did that happen?
In a roundabout way, yes, I was. There was this guy that sent me a message on Gay.com —I think I was about 18. He claimed to be a photographer for freshmen magazine, and asked me if I’d be interested in doing a photoshoot. It turned out that he was only taking pictures for himself, not for freshmen, but I was naive. It did, however, give me the confidence to send my pictures to a few studios.  

Tell me the origin of your on-camera name.
I came up with my first name. It was my grandfather’s name. The last name came from a director on one of the first movies I did

What was your very first scene, and how did it go?
[ Laughs ] My first scene was for Citiboyz. It was a nightmare. They flew about five or six of us, all about 18/19, out to Las Vegas for a week, and it was like being in summer camp. Everything we did the entire week—even when not filming—was planned out for us, and we were treated like children. We weren’t allowed any freedom for that week. The pay was terrible, too, but it was my first time shooting porn and I didn’t know any better.

What has been your favorite film to shoot?
Hot House has been the best I’ve worked with. And any of the scenes I’ve done with Kyle King have been my favorite. I’ve had a crush on him for the longest time

Oh, really? Does Kyle King know that you’ve had a crush on him, or is he going to be finding out when this interview hits the streets?
I think he does, but if he didn’t before, he does now! [ Laughs ]

How does your personal sex life compare to your porn persona’s sex life?
Well, I certainly don’t have sex for six hours at a time. [Laughs] But when I’m having sex on-camera, its not “acting”—if I’m enjoying it, I really am enjoying it.

Care to tell us about your earliest sexual experience?
Uh, I think when I was about five years old. I used to mess around with my cousin when I was a kid.

Wow, you started early! [ Laughs ] Do you watch your own films?
No. I’m super self-critical.

What do you like to do in your spare time, away from the camera?
Well, I have a regular job, I go to the gym, spend time with my friends.

Tell me something about yourself that our readers and the general public wouldn’t know.
I’m pretty introverted. I’ve never been comfortable with being recognized in public.

Now, I hear you have quite a big announcement for our readers.
Yeah, I finally decided that I’m done for good.

What are your reasons for leaving the industry?
I’ve taken breaks before, but I’ve never had the resolve to stop for good until now. I’ve been doing this for eight years, and I think it’s just time to move on and focus on other things. Believe it or not, employers don’t take me seriously after they find out that I’ve done (a lot of) porn. And porn is not and never was a “career”—it was just something I did for fun. It also has been an issue with almost every boyfriend.

What exactly has been the issue?
It’s a complicated issue. It usually starts out that they are aware that I have done porn, and that doesn’t bother them. But then, over time, they begin to see how people interact with me and treat me, and that I’m constantly getting attention, and eventually they have disdain for anything to do with that part of my life.

Do you think that most guys in the industry deal with similar relationship issues? Do you know any guys who’ve been able to make it work?
You would think that as long as I’ve been doing this that I would keep in contact with friends in the industry, but I don’t, so I can’t speak for other porn stars.  

Is there anything you’re going to miss about making films?
[ Laughs ] No.

Not even having sex with some of the industry’s hottest guys?
[ Laughs ] I haven’t had a problem setting up sex with hot porn stars outside of filming, so I don’t foresee having that problem in the future. And sex behind the camera is 10 times better than sex on camera.

How are you going to be spending your time instead?
Finishing school (finally) and trying to start my career.

Well, we wish you the best of luck, buddy, and thanks for eight years of hot videos!