--- title: Ted Cruz Ad Hitting Marco Rubio Features Porn Star description: An actress in an ad attacking Marco Rubio had been featured in soft-core porn films canonical: https://time.com/4219082/ted-cruz-ads-porn-star-marco-rubio-ted-cruz/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-12T14:02:49.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:46:31.683Z article:section: Politics og:title: Cruz Hits Rivals in 2 New Ads—But 1 Has a Porn Star og:description: That ad got pulled og:url: https://time.com/4219082/ted-cruz-ads-porn-star-marco-rubio-ted-cruz/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0007e8fc66ca7194/69887d60e20a875930a8f848/509690956.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: GOP Presidential Candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) Campaigns In South Carolina og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Cruz Hits Rivals in 2 New Ads—But 1 Has a Porn Star twitter:description: That ad got pulled twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0007e8fc66ca7194/69887d60e20a875930a8f848/509690956.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Cruz Hits Rivals in 2 New Ads—But 1 Gets Pulled Because It Has a Porn Star > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Feb 12, 2016 2:02 PM UTC  Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) speaks to members of the media at Morningstar Fellowship Church February 11, 2016 in Fort Mill, South Carolina. Alex Wong—Getty Images Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) speaks to members of the media at Morningstar Fellowship Church February 11, 2016 in Fort Mill, South Carolina. Alex Wong—Getty Images Alex Wong—Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Feb 12, 2016 2:02 PM UTC Ted Cruz released [two](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGWqKkzmJXw&feature=youtu.be) [ads](http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/02/11/ted-cruz-campaign-halts-ad-because-of-actresss-film-history/) attacking his Republican presidential rivals Donald Trump and Marco Rubio this week—but [a revelation about one his ad’s actors](http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/soft-core-porn-actress-in-new-cruz-ad-choosing-between-him-a?utm%5Fterm=.unDnlvvZm#.nqzX2ddwO) led that spot to be pulled from the airwaves. Cruz, who fell to third place in this week’s New Hampshire primary after a win in the Iowa caucuses, knocked the New Hampshire winner, Trump, for a “[pattern of sleaze](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGWqKkzmJXw&feature=youtu.be)” linked to his support for eminent domain. In a one-minute ad titled “Parking Lot,” Cruz calls out Trump for booting a woman off of her property in order to make room for a limousine parking lot. In the ad, Trump doesn’t deny that he bought the woman’s property for his private company. “I offered her a lot of money,” he’s seen saying in the ad, pointing to his chest as if to say he did so out of the goodness in his heart. Donald Trump has said he still supports eminent domain. “Trump uses power for personal gain,” the ad says. “Imagine what he could do as president.” In another ad released this week, Cruz attacked Rubio as “just a pretty face,” in a 30-second South Carolina spot that [parodied a self-help group](http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/02/11/ted-cruz-campaign-halts-ad-because-of-actresss-film-history/) griping over voting for a “Tea Party hero on the campaign” who went to Washington and “played patty cake with Chuck Schumer.” The ad was later pulled, however, due to the acting background of one of its actors. It turns out, one of the women his campaign tapped to appear in the video, Amy Lindsay, has been featured in soft-core pornography flicks. That revelation was first reported by [BuzzFeed](http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/soft-core-porn-actress-in-new-cruz-ad-choosing-between-him-a?utm%5Fterm=.unDnlvvZm#.nqzX2ddwO). After the ad was pulled, Lindsay tweeted that she was “disappointed” in the Cruz campaign. > [](https://twitter.com/amylindsayLA/status/698021779646775296) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4219082/ted-cruz-ads-porn-star-marco-rubio-ted-cruz/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4219082/ted-cruz-ads-porn-star-marco-rubio-ted-cruz/"},"headline":"Cruz Hits Rivals in 2 New Ads—But 1 Gets Pulled Because It Has a Porn Star","datePublished":"2016-02-12T14:02:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:46:31.683Z","description":"An actress in an ad attacking Rubio had been featured in soft-core porn films","url":"https://time.com/4219082/ted-cruz-ads-porn-star-marco-rubio-ted-cruz/","keywords":["2016 Election","republicans","2016 Election","ted cruz"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0007e8fc66ca7194/69887d60e20a875930a8f848/509690956.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0007e8fc66ca7194/69887d60e20a875930a8f848/509690956.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"GOP Presidential Candidate Sen. 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