Read our full gonzo guide to the RNC: "Fear and Loathing in Tampa."
Sarah Palin might not have been invited to the Republican National Convention, but her porn impersonator is crashing the party.
This Friday and Saturday, America's most popular adult film star Lisa Ann will take her traveling Sarah Palin act to Tampa to strip for conservative delegates from across the country. We were curious how Ann prepares to play the country's most polarizing politician -- both on the big screen and the stripper pole -- so we gave her a call.
"I don't have an acting coach or days to prepare for my role or anything like that," she tells Cultist. "I'm not really an actress. I'm just a mattress actress."
Sadly, that was the only joke Ann made during our 20-minute conversation. Who knew that a woman who makes a living by parodying politicians would take herself so seriously?
The interview started well, at least. Ann called us "dear" in a voice as sweet as her best Sarah Palin sotto voce. Then, like Palin's political career, the interview went a bit off the rails. What follows is an edited and abridged Q&A with America's top adult film actress.
New Times: Fellow porn star Jenna Jameson recently endorsed Mitt Romney for president ("When you're rich, you want a Republican in office"). Do you want to take this opportunity to make an endorsement of your own?
Lisa Ann: That's the wonderful thing about our country: everybody is entitled to their own opinion. With politics, it's kinda like religion. You shouldn't judge people on it. But it's unfortunate that some people just look at taxes. That's the one thing they ride on when it comes to politics. Sometimes you need to do a little more homework than that.
I'm not going to knock anyone for their choices. I'm pro-Obama. And sure, we would like to pay less taxes, but the beautiful thing about wealth is that there is nothing wrong with sharing it and being able to provide a better country over all.
Is that an Obama endorsement?
No. I don't really want to get involved in any of that right now.
What should delegates attending your performances this weekend in Tampa expect?
I come out in my Sarah Palin suit with my hair up and my glasses on and I dance to "We Made You" (a music video by Eminem featuring Ann as Palin) and they play it on the Jumbotron of the club, which is really fun. And I give away a lot of Palin paraphernalia like t-shirts and DVDs.
We have a pretty vast series of the Palin movies.
A lot of guys like to do photos with me after the show with me still dressed as Palin... They like me to put the outfit back on so they can use it for their Facebook or whatever they want.
Do you expect to see any top Repubs in the audience?
Dude, I don't have a crystal ball. I can't tell you (who's going to be there). I have a pretty large fan base myself.
It's not like when I'm at the club I ask, "Are you a Republican?" so I really couldn't tell you. But I know that playing Palin has opened up my range, or my demographic, a lot to include people who maybe before wouldn't have come to see my shows.
I'm sure that there will be a bunch of people from the convention there, but I doubt the politicians will be able to come out because normally they are very monitored in what they are doing.
Everybody is going to be afraid of the press.
Playing Palin seems to have revitalized your career
I had come back a long time before the Sarah Palin movies, but yeah it's been a game changer for me... Playing Palin wasn't my idea. It was brought to me by Hustler. Larry Flynt is such an advocate for us (porn stars) and our personal freedoms that I felt very comfortable doing it for his company. I knew that if there was going to be any legal backlash, it would go back to them and he would sort it out, so I didn't have any of those concerns. The timing was perfect because she was such a fun character to be able to impersonate.
I've traveled outside the country performing as her as well. I've even been invited to Finland as Sarah Palin. Finland doesn't have strip clubs, they aren't legal there. But they have a thing called Sexxxpo, a large event in a hockey arena. There are 7,000-10,000 people a show. So I danced for those people as Palin. It was awesome.
It's funnier in other countries because they don't make fun of their politicians like we do. They're not allowed to do those types of things so they found it really entertaining.
How do you mentally prepare yourself for a role like Sarah Palin?
Well, when Hustler decided they were interested in doing this movie, the news leaked out so we only had about four days to prepare. I recorded the VP debate and watched it .
But [my performance] is not like how amazing it was with HBO's Game Change, where you really thought it was Palin half way through the movie, it was so good. Porn stars don't really prepare that way. I'm not really an actress. I'm just a mattress actress. I don't have an acting coach or days to prepare for my role or anything like that.
Can you paint a picture of your performance as Sarah Palin this weekend so people have an idea what to expect?
You're on stage with music playing really loud, you know what I'm saying? I do my show. It's a strip tease as Sarah Palin. At a strip club. It's pretty cut and dry.
I don't go out there and recite any dialogue. I don't act anything out. I don't have any major props. It's a traveling gig so you're pretty limited in what you can bring. You just kinda get naked. It's a strip club! Why is a woman sitting up there and doing anything else?
Lisa Ann performs this Friday August 24 and Saturday August 25 at Thee Dollhouse in Tampa. She will perform twice each night. You can follow her on twitter @theRealLisaAnn.
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