Michel Houellebecq’s Controversial Role in a Porn Film

An author who writes insightfully about the porn industry could have had the sense to avoid it for himself.

Usually it’s his novels that cause a stir. But this winter, the French writer Michel Houellebecq (67) has been in conflict with a Dutch director who invited him to play the lead role in a porn film.

Houellebecq initially agreed, but regretted it when he saw the trailer. He went to court to have the film stopped – and lost the case.