Wikipedia

The Cock Destroyers

The Cock Destroyers were a pornographic double act comprising Sophie Anderson and Rebecca More. After meeting after being hired to engage in a burglary scene and sexual intercourse, the pair filmed a video in October 2018 requesting clientele for group sex, which went viral a few weeks later after being retweeted by a drag queen and then again in March 2019 after being sampled in a King Princess track. They went on to feature in A Tale of Two Cock Destroyers and Slag Wars: The Next Destroyer for Men.com and present sex education for Netflix.

Cock Destroyers
Top: Anderson during an interview for the Anything Goes with James English podcast in July 2022. Bottom: Rebecca More during an interview with Holly Randall in July 2021.
Background information
OriginEngland
Past members

More and Anderson split up in 2021, with the former announcing the latter's death in late 2023. In October 2019, The Vivienne, Divina de Campo, and Baga Chipz of that year's series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK named their drag girl band the Frock Destroyers after the pair; the trio became the first such band to enter the UK Top 40.

Career

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Formation and virality

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Sophie Anderson and Rebecca More, two pseudonymous pornographic actresses who had independently entered the sex industry via escorting and webcamming, met each other after being hired to act out a burglary scene and engage in sexual intercourse. After bonding over their shared looks and libido, the pair began performing together in twice daily group sex with paying customers.[1] By late 2018, More had acquired a significant gay fanbase on Twitter; Sirin Kale of The Face wrote in July 2019 that they were interested in her "sassy theatrics and memeable promo videos".[2]

In October 2018, after finishing a £300 morning session at London's St James's Hotel and Club[2] with several clients including chief executive officers, doctors, and a police officer,[1] the pair filmed a video in their hotel room[3] calling out for clients for the afternoon session, which was uploaded to More's Twitter account. The video depicted the pair describing themselves as "cock destroyers" using heavy British accents and lewd gestures which, according to Conor Williams of Interview, lent the clip "a bombastic theatricality".[1]

In early November,[4] after being retweeted by a Chicago-based drag queen,[5] the video went viral on Twitter and became popular among that platform's gay community,[1] resulting in coverage from the BBC.[2] The video's popularity among that market segment has been attributed to the pair's attitude to sex mirroring that of some queer men.[1] The Cock Destroyers went viral during a period in which memes of pornography were popular, with clips of Cock Destroyers saying "I’m too expensive for you" and "it will be a small fee to pay, but I’m sure you won’t mind" going viral around the same time.[6] In March 2019, King Princess uploaded a track to SoundCloud named after and sampling the pair followed by a 48-second clip containing the track and several cocks, prompting the original video to go viral again.[7] King Princess had originally crossed paths with the Cock Destroyers after she asked the pair to record a birthday message for her manager.[8]

Later works

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In October 2019, the pair played a pair of rival brothel madams in A Tale of Two Cock Destroyers, produced for Men.com and TLAGay.[9] Recorded in a suburban manor estate,[10] the video was their first venture into that genre and also featured that genre's Ty Mitchell, JJ Knight, Johnny Rapid, Joey Mills, Leander, and Jonas Jackson.[9] Rose Dommu of Out.com described the film's vibe as "The Favourite, but with more anal".[10] In March 2020, to promote Netflix's Sex Education, the pair rebranded themselves as "sex education destroyers" for a one-off trans inclusive sex education video in which they walked through several facets of sex including HIV, pre-exposure prophylaxis, post-exposure prophylaxis, consent, vaginal pleasure, anal sex, and douching. Nick Duffy of PinkNews described the video as "gloriously queer" and wrote that it "left us hoping for a full Cock Destroyers series".[11]

From November 2020, the pair co-presented the safe for work four-part reality television series Slag Wars: The Next Destroyer alongside Matthew Camp,[12] with whom More had commandeered the queer brand Daddy Couture a year earlier.[13] Narrated by Chase Icon,[14] the show was shot during the COVID-19 pandemic[15] in four days at the countryside house of a friend of More's after she offered it for a shoot.[14] The series sought to find a third Cock Destroyer[16] among seven sex workers and OnlyFans creators,[17] who were described on the programme as Slags in an effort to reclaim the word as sex-positive.[18] The show was streamed on Men.com and the purpose-built safe for work domain SlagWars.com[12] and won by Tyreece Nye.[19]

"They raised money for HIV and sexual health charity the Terrence Higgins Trust by doing a sponsored 10k run on World AIDS Day [...]. They appeared at Pride events. They reached out to LGBTQ+ people on social media who were struggling. They supported trans people during their transition. They fought against homophobia, transphobia and bigotry. They advocated for the rights and dignity of sex workers, helping to destigmatise and humanise those working in adult industries." [sic]

Alim Kheraj of Dazed talking about the Cock Destroyers while eulogising Anderson[20]

In May 2021, following speculation caused by More tweeting about a "viscous email" [sic] she had received, Anderson tweeted that the pair had split.[21] More announced Anderson's death in December 2023, by which time she had retired. Eulogising Anderson, Alim Kheraj of Dazed praised the pair for their staunch support of the LGBTQ and sex worker communities.[20]

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In October 2019, that year's RuPaul's Drag Race UK contestants The Vivienne, Divina de Campo, and Baga Chipz formed the Frock Destroyers,[22] who took their name from Anderson and More's outfit.[23] They had formed the band as part of a challenge to write, record, and perform verses to "Break Up (Bye Bye)" and beat Filth Harmony,[22] whose name riffed on Fifth Harmony.[24] Upon release, the Frock Destroyers' version became the first UK Top 40 single by a drag girl band, peaking at number 35.[23] In December 2020, Emma Garland of Vice likened the Love Island alumnus Megan Barton-Hanson to a tamer Cock Destroyer,[25] while in February 2023, Matty Healy stated in an episode of The Adam Friedland Show that he found the pair "terrifying".[26]: 18:34 

Discography

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Singles

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  • "Slag Wars" (with Andrew Barret Cox and Jan featuring Mark Mauriello and Hayley Moir) (2020)[27]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Williams, Conor (11 December 2019). "The Cock Destroyers Want to Make The World a Better Place". Interview Magazine. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Cock Destroyer: how Rebecca More went from meme to the UK's most…". The Face. 4 July 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  3. ^ "We Spoke to the 'Cock Destroyer', the Porn Star Who's Become a Gay Icon". VICE. 21 November 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  4. ^ "Rebecca More: The straight porn star turned into a gay icon by the internet". BBC News. 21 November 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  5. ^ QX (26 December 2018). "QX Meets...Rebecca More". QX Magazine. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  6. ^ Manavis, Sarah (19 November 2018). "The rise of the porn meme". New Statesman. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  7. ^ "The British 'Cock Destroyers' Have Officially Resurfaced". Paper. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  8. ^ Hunt, El (27 November 2020). "King Princess: "When Harry Styles tweeted about me, it was a huge deal"". NME. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  9. ^ a b "The Cock Destroyers Are Finally Starring in a Gay Porn". www.out.com. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  10. ^ a b "I Went Behind the Scenes of the Cock Destroyers' Gay Porn". www.out.com. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  11. ^ Duffy, Nick (12 March 2020). "The C**k Destroyers are teaching inclusive sex education for Netflix and they're doing a better job than most schools". PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  12. ^ a b "Matthew Camp, Cock Destroyers To Host 'Slag Wars' TV Show". www.out.com. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  13. ^ "Matthew Camp and a Cock Destroyer Have Taken Over This Queer Brand". www.out.com. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  14. ^ a b Smoke, Ben Charlie (17 November 2020). "Inside The Cock Destroyers' New Reality TV Show". VICE. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  15. ^ Forster, Tim (11 December 2020). "Please Let Slag Wars Be Queer Reality TV's Future". Vulture. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  16. ^ Smith, Reiss (27 November 2020). "Slag Wars: Meet the 7 queer, trans and non-binary icons competing to be the next C**k Destroyer". PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  17. ^ Dazed (22 December 2020). "Slag Wars is the future of queer reality TV". Dazed. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  18. ^ Tabberer, Jamie (12 November 2020). "Slag Wars: Meet the LGBTQ+ stars competing in Men.com's first SFW reality TV show". Attitude. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  19. ^ Smith, Reiss (18 December 2020). "The C**k Destroyers' Slag Wars reached its big climax – and the winner is ready to make the world a more inclusive place". PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  20. ^ a b Dazed (5 December 2023). "Sophie Anderson will always be more than a meme". Dazed. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  21. ^ Tabberer, Jamie (7 May 2021). "The C**k Destroyers 'parting ways', Sophie Anderson confirms". Attitude. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  22. ^ a b Curto, Justin (31 October 2019). "RuPaul's Drag Race U.K. Recap: The X-Factor". Vulture. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  23. ^ a b "Charting queens: How drag finally punctured pop". The Independent. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  24. ^ "When Will RuPaul's Drag Race UK Episode 6 Premiere?". 7 November 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  25. ^ Garland, Emma; Casas, Clara (16 December 2020). "There's Only One Megan Barton-Hanson". Vice. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  26. ^ Creamium Town Archive (9 February 2023). The Adam Friedland Show Ep. P05 | Matty Healy. Retrieved 28 August 2024 – via YouTube.
  27. ^ Slag Wars (Official Theme), Spotify, 14 December 2020, retrieved 28 August 2024
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