Actor Orlando Bloom. (Getty Images)

British actor Orlando Bloom, who performed major roles in the Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean franchises, recently disclosed that he practiced celibacy for six months prior to dating pop-singer Katy Perry (now his fiancee) and further disclosed that pornography is very "destructive."

Bloom's comments were praised by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE), which commended the 43-year-old actor for "using his influence to warn others."

Actor Orlando Bloom and his fiancee, pop-singer Katy Perry. (Getty Images)

In a March 15 interview with The Times, Bloom -- who was married to Miranda Kerr for three years (2010-13) -- explained that he had led, to some degree, the life of a Playboy but that he was not happy. A friend suggested he try celibacy before seeking to date anyone new.

Bloom said he was celibate for six months and that made it easier and more meaningful to date Katy Perry. The two are now engaged.





As for pornography, Bloom said, “Porn is super-disruptive to your sex life, to your libido. They’ve done the studies, they can’t find any kids who don’t watch it."

"When you watch multiple people at multiple times in one evening, how is your actual real-life partner going to match up?" he said.

"It’s just so destructive," Bloom added.

(Screenshot)

“It takes courage to publicly state the truth that pornography is destructive and harmful, and we commend Orlando Bloom for using his influence to warn others,” said Dawn Hawkins, executive director of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, in a statement.

“He is one of many public figures to speak out on the harmful trends in, or impacts of, pornography, including Cardi B, Terry Crews, Russell Brand, Kanye West, and more," said Hawkins. "Further, 15 states have now formally recognized its public health harms.”

(Screenshot)

“Numerous studies and research have found mainstream pornography -- with its common themes of incest, racism, and violence against women -- is linked to negative impacts on the brain and sexual development, and is driving harms such as offline sexual violence, increased sex trafficking, and more," she said.

“The infiltration of pornography into online websites and apps has led to increasing numbers of children who are exposed, and the effects on young minds can be detrimental," added Hawkins.

Orlando Bloom as "Legolas" in The Lord of the Rings film series. (Screenshot)

"Pornhub -- which requires no legitimate forms of age-verification from users who are uploading content -- is fueling demand for sexual abuse material by offering Italians free access to premium hardcore pornography content which includes themes of incest, child/teen, sexual abuse," said the NCOSE statement.

“The normalization of pornography has helped suppress the truth about its widespread harms and Orlando Bloom has taken a bold step to confront this,” Hawkins concluded.



