In the 2000s, Lucas attracted attention for his views on politics and culture through a series of columns, speaking events and his increasing activism. He is a vocal opponent of drug use and an advocate for
safe sex, both in the porn industry and the gay community at large. In August 2004,
The Advocate published an interview by
Harvey Fierstein with Lucas about his full-page
public service announcements in several national publications warning of the dangers of unprotected sex. Lucas wrote about the need for LGBT people to reassess conservatives in August 2010, citing
Ann Coulter as an example of a gay-friendly conservative leader.
Columnist On April 20, 2007,
The New York Blade began to publish regular opinion columns by Lucas, who had previously had a number of comments published in the Blade's opinion section. In October 2009, Lucas wrote a column for
The Advocate decrying the group Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism. In March 2010 Lucas began writing a column for
The Advocate. His columns have focused on Israel, Russia's confronting homosexuality, and the
Park51 controversy. In 2011 he started writing a column for Huffington Post. As of 2024, Lucas has also contributed opinion writing to
The Jerusalem Post.
Islam His writings on
Islam have been controversial. In a 2007
New York Blade column, Lucas expressed support for artist Charles Merrill's burning of a Koran that was estimated at $60,000. He has condemned Islam and accused it of creating negative attitudes that lead to the persecution of homosexuals and discrimination of women. As a columnist for
The Advocate, Lucas continued to explore Islamic topics. In a heavily debated column, he called the
Cordoba House, a proposed Islamic community center and mosque controversially located near the
World Trade Center site, a 'monument to Muslim terrorism' and an example of "political Islam's ascendancy." After the
2011 Egyptian revolution he wrote that the
Muslim Brotherhood would fill a power vacuum, asserting that it would be a problem for the discreet
Egyptian gay community that has lived with relatively little government persecution.
University lectures In April 2005, Lucas was invited to speak before a
Calhoun College Master's Tea at
Yale University. The speech was organized with the assistance of gaYalies, a campus group for gay and
bisexual men. He spoke about his life history and his views on pornography. The Speakers Bureau at
Stanford University invited Lucas to speak in Cubberley Auditorium on February 14, 2008, about the role the adult entertainment industry plays in AIDS prevention. The appearance sparked debate about his political columns for the
New York Blade, particularly his assertions that "the
Qur'an is today's
Mein Kampf" and that its teachings inspire
Muslims to kill
gay people.
Activism Lucas' criticism of
drug use and his sponsorship of public service
ad campaigns about the dangers of
unprotected sex in the
gay community led
Harvey Fierstein to interview him for
The Advocate.
Documentarian 2012 marked another turning point in Lucas' career—he released his first documentary film, "
Undressing Israel: Gay Men in the Promised Land." The official film synopsis explains Lucas' mission in creating the film: "When many people think of Israel, it is often in terms of modern war or ancient religion. But there is much more to the Jewish state than missiles and prayers. In his debut as a documentary filmmaker, adult-film entrepreneur and political columnist Michael Lucas examines a side of Israel that is too often overlooked: its thriving gay community. Undressing Israel features interviews with a diverse range of local men, including a gay member of Israel's parliament, a trainer who served openly in the army, a young Arab-Israeli journalist, and a pair of dads raising their kids. Lucas also visits Tel Aviv's vibrant nightlife scene—and even attends a same-sex wedding—in this guided tour of a country that has emerged as a pioneer for gay integration and equality." Lucas released his second documentary, "
Campaign of Hate: Russia and Gay Propaganda," in 2014 with co-director and co-producer Scott Stern.
PrEP In 2013 Lucas wrote an op-ed column at
Out.com where he discussed his use of
Truvada (which he began using in June of that year), the medication used as a
pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent contracting the HIV virus. In his column Lucas wrote: Lucas continues to advocate the use and understanding of PrEP in an effort to end the AIDS epidemic. In September 2015 he created his first public-service announcement where he explains the importance of PrEP. In September 2015 he followed up with his original
Out.com writing by saying that PrEP works, and the backlash against the medication's use needs to stop. Lucas wrote the following in his column: "Despite all the attempted distractions, the focus must remain on the simple message in the new study: If you take PrEP, you will not get HIV. Period. It is time to wake up, stop the endless debating, and take action. The war against HIV rages on, and when scientists actually win a battle, we must avail ourselves of the powerful weapon they have developed." On February 24, 2016, PrEP was formally approved in Israel.
Israel . The core of Lucas'
worldview is his
Jewish identity, and particularly his deep affinity for the state of Israel. Lucas received a positive response to the trip; however, some religious segments of Israeli society had expressed less enthusiasm for the arrival of a gay porn magnate. In an article, "Lucas responds," Lucas characterized some of the reaction as
homophobic and in an interview said, "Israel is my country as much as it is yours. To come to Israel is my
birthright." In September 2009, Lucas was granted Israeli citizenship. The next summer in a
New York Blade column Lucas brought up his disapproval of
Haredi Judaism in Israel once again. In "Trouble With Ultra-Orthodox," Lucas referred to the Ultra-Orthodox community in
Jerusalem as "religious goons" and parasites for his belief that they take advantage of state welfare programs.
New York LGBT Community Center In February 2011, Lucas created a controversy over a pro-Palestinian group that planned to hold a meeting at New York's
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. The group, Siegebusters, had planned to hold a fundraising party on March 5 at the center to help fund another vessel to break the
Israeli naval blockade of Gaza, as well as to train activists. Siegebusters protested the decision by organizing an
online petition; Lucas told
The Jerusalem Post that his success with the event's cancellation was a "landmark moment" in his life. In a statement defending the move, the center said that it "provides space for a variety of LGBT voices in our community to engage in conversations on a range of topics." == Controversy ==