There is one fewer blonde legend coming to Edison next week, and the reason is ugly. Brandi Love has canceled her Exxxotica New Jersey appearance after a wave of violent threats, including death threats, over a post she made about the Cornell 7.
Brandi Love has been a longtime favorite among us gooners, so this one stings more than most of what lands on the DYG blog. She was booked to appear with LoyalFans Spotlight at the New Jersey Convention & Exposition Center, October 23 to 25. Now she won't be there.
What she posted
Brandi Love has been loud online about backing the accused men's right to due process. The post that set things off was short. In her words, she "channeled a bit from a Friends episode," paired it with a photo she called Sydney Sweeney-esque, and wrote two words: Cornell and the number 7.
That's it. That's the post. She says the point was to mock what she sees as online mob justice. "You don't just get to label people rapists," she said, calling the label "factually and legally inaccurate and libelous."
So where does Sydney Sweeney fit into all this? Short answer: nowhere. Brandi Love had posted a few photos reminiscent of Sydney Sweeney's September 9 ad campaign for Novig. Sweeney has no role in the Cornell case and hasn't said a word about any of this, but we felt a clarification was important, given how potent Sydney Sweeney's name is right now.
The case behind the two words
The Cornell 7 are seven Chi Phi fraternity members accused by a former Cornell student, known in court papers as Jane Doe. In a September 14 civil lawsuit, she says they drugged and sexually assaulted her at the fraternity house on October 19, 2024. Cornell's Title IX panel expelled two of the men and handed the others lesser penalties.
No criminal charges were brought at first. On October 1, Governor Kathy Hochul named Attorney General Letitia James special prosecutor, and the state now calls it an active criminal investigation. Two of the accused are fighting James's appointment in court, with arguments set for October 29. Nobody has been convicted of anything, and the men are still defendants in Jane Doe's civil suit.
Here's the part that should stop everyone cold. Jane Doe has been getting death threats too, including a caller who threatened to shoot members of her family unless she dropped the suit. A young woman who says she was assaulted is being terrorized for going to court. That's monstrous.
Then the threats came for Brandi
Brandi Love says the replies to her post turned violent fast, and that much of it came from industry colleagues and their fans. She reported a number of posts saying they intended to "Kirk" her, which she took as a reference to Charlie Kirk's assassination. X found those posts in violation and removed them. She's still worried.
After talking it over with her security team and Dan Davis of Exxxotica, she pulled out. "The safety of the fans as well as the other performers must always come first," she said. "This decision was not made lightly."
Where we land
We're not here to referee the politics. Some of you agree with her, plenty of you think her post was cruel to a woman who says she's already been through hell, and you're allowed to say so loudly. Argue with her. Unfollow her if you want.
What nobody gets to do is threaten to kill her. Not Brandi, and not Jane Doe. The same rule covers both women in this story, and it isn't complicated. Disagreement is speech. Threatening to shoot someone's family, or to "Kirk" someone, is not.
Conventions like this one, and the AVN Show coming to Vegas in January, only work when performers can sit at a table and fans can walk up without anyone checking the exits. Brandi chose to protect that, even at the cost of her own weekend.
If you'd like to show Brandi Love support, visit her social pages.
OF @brandi_love