Ted Cruz's Campaign Pulls Down Television Ad Starring a Porn Actress

At first glance, most people who saw the most recent Ted Cruz television ad running in South Carolina this week probably wouldn't have found it controversial enough to be taken down. The spot features a forlorn group of people sitting in a group therapy session discussing how they've all been lied to by Marco Rubio. At one point a blonde woman says, "Maybe you should vote for more than just a pretty face next time."

But the Cruz campaign is now removing the ad after it was reported by Buzzfeed News Thursday night that the blonde woman, played by the actress Amy Lindsay, is actually a soft-core porn actress. In addition to Cruz's campaign ad, she has also acted in such films asConfessions of a Call Girl, Carnal Wishes, Secrets of a Chambermaid, and Insatiable Desires.

A spokesperson for the Cruz campaign, Rick Tyler, told VICE News in a statement that Lindsay got the job after responding to an open casting call. "Unfortunately, she was not vetted by the production company," Tyler said. "Had the campaign known of her full filmography, we obviously would not have let her appear in the ad."

The campaign will replace the ad with another commercial, although Tyler did not say if they would start vetting the actors that appear in future ads for their previous film history.

Lindsay told Buzzfeed she "assumed" the campaign knew about her prior acting experience and was happy that the campaign was open-minded enough to let her appear in the ad. After it was taken down, she tweeted that she was "extremely disappointed" in the campaign's decision.

Lindsay did not immediately respond to VICE News' request for comment.

South Carolina has been flooded with Republican political ads ahead of the primary on February 20, although most of them don't feature porn stars. Today, the Club for Growth Super PAC unveiled a new $1.5 million ad buy that attacks Donald Trump as not a real conservative. Right to Rise, the Super PAC supporting Jeb Bush, has already spent $10 million on ads in South Carolina and said they plan to pour another $1.7 million into the state before the primary.