Burlesque dancer sues after being called ‘porn star’!

NEW YORK - Calling a burlesque performer a porn star is an actionable offense, according to a Brooklyn dancer who performs in panties and pasties.

Tara Lee Heffner, whose stage name is Veronica Varlow, is suing the Learning Annex, a private continuing adult education school based in New York, after videos she did for the company were posted online identifying her as a “Young Sexy Porn Star Stripper Dancer” and a “Big T— Sexy Teen Girl.”

Last year Heffner led a Learning Annex seminar on burlesque dancing. In videos for the company’s affiliate, OneMinuteU.com, she also provided advice on sultry dance moves, reports The New York Daily News.

When the videos found their way to YouTube, the sexy siren was no longer simply dispensing tips on how to get “sparkly, burlesque lips” or “how to be sexy and flirty.”

“She’s a burlesque performer and she takes it very seriously as an art form,” said her lawyer, Ivan Saperstein.

“She’s purposely avoided nudity her entire career to avoid being harmed in this way,” the lawyer added.

The Manhattan Supreme Court suit accuses the Learning Annex and contractor PHI Media of trashing her good name by connecting her to X-rated entertainment. (ANI)