Nevada Brothel Workers Are Unionizing to Protect Their Digital Rights
Under normal circumstances, the sex workers arriving to their jobs at Sheri’s Ranch, a legal brothel in Pahrump, Nevada, have a predictable routine. Most people’s shifts at the ranch last for at least a week, and the process involves picking out a room that they’ll stay in and work out of for the duration, visiting with a doctor, and some paperwork. The week of Christmas, however, things went very differently. Sheri’s workers showing up say they were presented with a surprising and objectionable new contract that would give the brothel unprecedented control over them, their intellectual property, and their digital likenesses.
“They want everything,” says Jupiter Jetson, a sex worker, model, and adult film actress who’s worked at Sheri’s for eight years.
“Their motivation is to get ahold of our videos and the ability to create AI likenesses.”
Jetson says there had been hints that something might be afoot: in the fall, brothel management started offering what she wryly calls “teaser trailers,” saying things like “There’s a new contract coming, a lot of ladies aren’t going to like it” while at the same time insisting, she says, that “there weren’t any major changes” and framing it as a chance to “tie up some loose ends and fix some clerical errors.” Like many people in adult businesses, Sheri’s Ranch workers—referred to as “courtesans” in Nevada, the only state where prostitution is legal—are classified as independent contractors, but some say they’re treated more like employees, with the ranch controlling basic aspects of their jobs, including how much they charge and what they can wear.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/02/nevada-sex-workers-brothel-union-ai/