Former porn-shop worker wants Mark Robinson to pay legal costs for ‘political theater’ lawsuit

A former adult video store employee is suing former Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, seeking to recoup money he says he had to spend to defend himself against a lawsuit that Robinson filed against him. 

It stems from a defamation suit filed by Robinson while he was running for governor in 2024. 

Louis Love Money conducted interviews with WRAL and other media outlets in 2024 about Robinson, the Republican Party’s nominee for governor that year. Money alleged that Robinson used to frequent his shop to watch pornographic films prior to his time in public office. Money said he and Robinson also struck up a friendship. 

Robinson filed a defamation lawsuit targeting Money as well as CNN, which reported on the racist and sexually explicit comments made on a pornographic website called Nude Africa under a username the cable network tied to Robinson. Robinson denied the allegations in the CNN story, as well as some of Money’s claims, accusing them of trying to sabotage his political career with falsehoods.

Robinson used campaign donations to pay his legal bills for that lawsuit and dropped the complaint soon after losing the election to Democrat Josh Stein.

Earlier this year, Robinson went on a podcast and said that his previous denials weren’t entirely true, acknowledging an “obsession” with pornography in the past. “I won't say that I completely lied,” Robinson said of his denials during the 2024 race. “Some of the things about the whole story — there's some truth to it.”

Money says the comments on the podcast proves the claims he made all along: That he had told the truth about his relationship with Robinson, and that when Robinson sued him for defamation, he “abused the legal process” for political goals rather than legitimate legal claims. 

Robinson’s attorney in the defamation case, Jesse Binnall, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Money’s claims. Robinson also didn’t respond to a request for comment, and he hasn’t responded in court to Money’s claims. 

“The [2024] lawsuit appears to have been political theater, using the court system as part of an election strategy,” Money wrote in his complaint, filed Tuesday in Guilford County Superior Court. “... Ultimately, Robinson's own public statements contradicted the narrative advanced in the lawsuit.”

Robinson didn’t fully walk back his previous claims during his recent podcast appearance. For instance, he continued to cast doubt on whether he was the one who had written the comments associated with the Nude Africa account.

He has suggested that someone with knowledge of how he writes online could have copied his style in an elaborate attempt to frame him years before his political career began. Robinson doubled down on that defense in the podcast.

But he did acknowledge being “involved with people that watched pornography” — similar to the claims Money had made, which Robinson and his campaign had previously said were “ridiculous,” “completely unsubstantiated,” “Democrat-activist fan fiction” and “tabloid trash.”

Money says Robinson should now be forced to repay him the thousands of dollars he lost due to the defamation lawsuit, including his legal bills.

“Robinson voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit after losing the gubernatorial election, despite previously alleging that the statements at issue caused substantial reputational and political harm and justified a $50 million damages claim,” Money’s lawsuit says. “If Robinson genuinely believed the statements caused such damages, the election loss would seemingly have strengthened, rather than diminished, his incentive to pursue the litigation.”

This isn’t the first time Money has sought to pressure Robinson to pay him.

During the election, Money’s band, Trailer Park Orchestra, released a song called “The Lt. Governor Owes Me Money” in which Money says he used to make bootleg porn videos for Robinson but that Robinson never paid for one.

“Remember the bootlegs? I get asked all the time,” Money sings at one point. “I ain't said nothing. But now it’s time.”

At the time, Money told WRAL that Robinson would visit his store multiple times a week to eat pizza, chat and watch adult films. Robinson denied those allegations at the time.

"Just straight American porn," Money said in a September 2024 interview. "And I don't trust anybody that doesn't like good old American porn. So, no, he shouldn't be (judged). He should be judged on everything else, but he should not be judged for this."

Robinson has since likened his efforts to quit porn to a drug addict getting clean. In the recent podcast he said he wanted to go public with his own struggles, in order to help other men.

“There's no shame in someone who was once a thief who no longer steals,” Robinson said. “The shame is staying in it. And that's what we've got to get our young men to start seeing — how damaging that type of lifestyle is.”