Porn star Penny Flame left the porn industry back in 2009. She has taken back her real name (Jennie Ketcham) and is attempting to forge a new identity away from the adult film biz . At the forefront of this effort is her book, I Am Jennie , which details her decisions to leave porn, her sex addiction rehab, and her hopes for the future.
Then-Penny Flame lobbied for a spot on Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew , hoping for a boost in mainstream exposure. Instead, she changed dramatically through the course of Dr. Drew’s program and decided to change her life. Feeling degraded and disillusioned with the porn industry, she started using her real name, Jennie Ketcham, and began writing a memoir called I Am Jennie which details more of her time on Sober House , including attempts to stall progress and encourage relapse on the part of the show’s producers, reports NY Daily .
“I guess I’m famous for being a whore?” said Jennie, answering the question “Who are you?” posed by an indignant Heidi Fleiss, infamous former madam when they met on Sober House . “I used to be a porn star.” Fleiss was asking why Jennie was famous, since Sober House is a show for celebrities. Jennie shared her stage name, albeit with a bit of shame, but insisted that she prefers to be called “Jennie.”
“Technically, to earn a place there, we were all celebrities of a sort. But Mike Starr, the former Alice in Chains bassist, was too insecure from years of drug abuse to have any starlike confidence. Tom was still finding his footing in sobriety, and was quietly tiptoeing around the Heidi situation. And Heidi’s focus on p—— Tom off — and she was very good at it, no matter how much Tom tried to pretend everything was fine — detracted from her potential star quality,” said Jennie in the book.
She also detailed some of the differences between Sex Rehab and Sober House . While she felt safe on Sex Rehab , on Sober House she was less secure. Though she was there to continue her treatment and take the next step toward a new life, off-camera interactions led Jennie to believe the producers were subtly pushing the stars toward relapse for ratings. “I wanted authenticity, self-discovery, total breakdowns, and a safe place to rebuild. Production intentionally throwing obstacles at us to make good television was nothing more than just that: television,” Jennie said.
Jennie confronted Dr. Drew after a particularly troubling incident with a fellow housemate. She called the producers first, but got nowhere. Instead, she sat down with Drew, asking him why production was allowed to throw obstacles in the path of people who were earnestly seeking recovery. A troubled Drew reassured her, “It won’t happen again, I promise. And if I hear about Production causing any problems like this, there will be serious issues. You are my patient. I have your back, Jennie.”
Reaffirming her commitment to her new identity, Jennie resolved to work through her problems on Sober House despite challenges.
I Am Jennie can be purchased at online bookstores like Amazon.com . A four-page excerpt can be found here . Best of luck from IQ to Jennie Ketcham as she continues to build herself a new life.
