What Laila Mickelwait’s takedown of Pornhub teaches us about courage

Growing up, many of us were inspired by heroes. Wonder Woman, She-Ra, the Powerpuff Girls—these icons stood up for the voiceless and fought against overwhelming odds. They allowed us to believe that courage and justice could prevail, no matter the size of the enemy.

But what happens when the villains are real?

For Laila Mickelwait, the threats were no Doctor Poison, no Hordak, no Mojo Jojo. They were something far more insidious: a goliath in the form of the multi-billion-dollar porn industry.

“Over 10 years ago, I started to really notice that there was a trend where sex trafficking wasn’t just happening offline in the dark alleys, in the brothels, in the places where you would imagine,” she shared in an interview with Kristina Mӓnd-Lakhiani on the Mindvalley Book Club. “It’s being filmed and then uploaded online, monetized online, and living in perpetuity online.”

Laila couldn’t look the other way. Armed with resilience, a deep sense of justice, and an unrelenting drive to protect the innocent, she took on an empire profiting from the exploitation of the vulnerable, specifically Pornhub.

And if there’s one thing that her story proves, it’s this: courage isn’t reserved for heroes with a magic lasso or superpowers. It’s something we can all channel to stand up for what matters most.

For those who don’t know… who is Laila Mickelwait?

If the name “Laila Mickelwait” isn’t on your radar yet, it’s time it was. She’s the CEO of the Justice Defense Fund and the relentless advocate behind #Traffickinghub, one of the most significant movements against online sexual exploitation.

Her work, which inspired her bestselling book, Takedown: Inside the Fight to Shut Down Pornhub, not only exposed the dark side of Pornhub but also led to groundbreaking changes in the $58.8 billion industry. In short, it forced the company to confront and be accountable for its negligence.

But Laila’s just a person who, like many of us, started with no plan to take on a giant. What sets her apart is a simple yet powerful refusal to ignore the truth.

Inspired by her father’s passion for human rights, Laila grew up having conversations about global oppression and the struggles of the voiceless.

One moment in particular would shape her path: her father calling her to watch a documentary about child trafficking. “It really gripped me,” she recalled. “I thought it was the most horrifying thing that could ever happen to someone.”

From that moment on, the seeds of her advocacy were planted.

The problem Laila Mickelwait couldn’t ignore

If anything, Laila wants to make one thing clear: she has no beef with the adult entertainment industry in general. What she has a problem with is the blatant breach of individual consent—evident by the countless cases of real-life exploitation being filmed, shared, uploaded on Pornhub, reuploaded endlessly, and monetized for the world to see.

“Pornhub wasn’t just a porn site,” Laila explained. “It was actually a crime scene.” And it was happening in plain sight.

Behind every click and every view were real people—many of them children and victims of sex trafficking—whose pain and exploitation were being sold as entertainment. Survivors described the experience as “the immortalization of trauma.”

In her address to the House Financial Services Committee, which oversees the entire U.S. financial services industry, Laila lists horror story after horror story…

…like that of the woman who was bound and gagged. Or the 15-year-old girl from Florida. And let’s not forget the videos that the Sunday Times found of children as young as three among Pornhub’s content.

Meanwhile, its parent company, MindGeek, reaped the profits. With 170 million daily visitors, the site sold 4.6 billion ad impressions a day and turned abuse into a global business model. This was a system designed to prioritize profit over human dignity, leaving countless survivors healing from trauma in its wake.

That’s why Laila and the #Traffickinghub movement demanded better. For the millions of survivors, for the children robbed of their innocence, and for a world where such negligence should never be tolerated.

“There aren’t many issues in which people are universally united,” she wrote in her book, “but everyone agrees that no one should be raped for profit on the world’s largest porn site.”

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What you can learn from Laila Mickelwait’s story

Laila’s not one to consider herself a she-ro. But one thing’s for sure: she did what so many of us dream about—she stood up to the villain and fought for what was right.

Without her courage, perseverance, and purpose, many of Pornhub’s victims might still be voiceless, and the system driven by greed might have gone unchallenged.

“My hope is that this story is inspiring and encouraging to everybody to take on whatever it is in their life that they have their giant to face,” Laila shares in her interview.

Here’s what her journey teaches us so that we can face our own villains, should the opportunity arise:

1. Courage is a choice

“It’s not the right time,” said no one who made a difference ever. And neither did Laila.

When she decided to call out Pornhub for their unacceptable behavior, she didn’t have all the answers. She didn’t have a plan mapped out or resources lined up.

What she did have was the courage to act despite fear and uncertainty. There were moments when the enormity of the fight felt overwhelming, and she didn’t know if she had it in her to continue.

But what kept her going was a powerful realization: “I often think about when I get to the end of my life, and I want to look back on what I’ve done. I don’t want to have regrets. I don’t want to wish I did something that I didn’t do because I was scared or because it was hard.”

Lesson learned: Courage is understanding what fear can teach us and showing up despite it. The right time to act may never come, but taking that first step is what sets extraordinary change in motion.

2. Perseverance pays off

It’s like that Chumbawamba song: when you get knocked down, you get back up again. Why? Because nothing’s going to keep you down.

And it seems that’s Laila’s motto, too. From discovering that credit card companies quietly resumed business with Pornhub after announcing they’d cut ties to facing threats and personal attacks, the journey was anything but easy.

Yet, she continued to push forward, describing the process as years of pushing a boulder uphill, not knowing when—or if—it would finally tip.

“I think that a lesson there for me is that if you’re called to something, just keep at it,” she said. And eventually, there’ll be a point where that boulder “starts to actually go downhill.”

Lesson learned: Big changes don’t happen overnight. Progress comes from consistent, persistent effort, even when the path feels uncertain. Take breaks when you need to, but don’t give up.

3. Purpose fuels resilience

Purpose gives meaning to your efforts. When you’re clear on why you’re doing something, it becomes a roadmap to resilience. It makes it easier to push through setbacks, opposition, and moments of doubt.

For Laila, her purpose was rooted in justice for victims and accountability for those enabling exploitation. This gave her the strength to withstand personal attacks, intimidation, and even threats to her safety.

And seeing the results of her efforts—like survivors coming forward or systemic changes in the industry—made the pain worth enduring. As she pointed out, “Pain is bearable when it has a purpose.”

Lesson learned: Purpose turns obstacles into stepping stones and keeps you grounded in the bigger picture.

4. Every action matters

“I don’t discount any of the small things—the likes, the shares, you know, all of that kind of thing,” says Laila. Even the smallest actions can spark something much larger.

After all, the #Traffickinghub movement began with a single tweet. What started as a simple post calling attention to the exploitation on Pornhub galvanized millions to demand change.

“If you want to take on an issue and you feel like, ‘Boy, this is such a massive injustice or a massive topic,’” she advised, “I think that, realizing that even the smallest things—they add up over time.”

Lesson learned: Don’t underestimate the power of your actions. Sharing a post, signing a petition, or having a conversation may seem miniscule, but those steps can lead to monumental shifts.

5. The power of community

The name “Laila Mickelwait” might be on Takedown, but as she pointed out, “this wasn’t a one-woman battle.”

“There were so many people who came alongside me,” she added. Victims who were raising their voices and speaking out, the whistleblowers from inside the company, the journalists, the lawmakers, the attorneys, other advocates, and even people who were taking to the streets and protesting.

This only shows that when people come together for a common cause, change becomes unstoppable.

Lesson learned: Even when a challenge feels overwhelming, building a community of supporters and leaning on them can amplify your impact.

Fuel your mind

You know those books that get under your skin? The ones that won’t let you sleep until you’ve turned every page?

The Mindvalley Book Club is full of them—stories like Takedown by Laila Mickelwait that have you engaged with “Oh sh*t!” and “No way!”

The thing is, Kristina Mänd-Lakhiani doesn’t just pick books. She curates experiences that dare you to think, push you to act, and challenge everything you thought you knew.

So, join the Mindvalley Book Club. The next book could be the one that changes your world or inspires you to change it.

Welcome in.