Ted Cruz removes ad featuring adult film actress

In an embarrassing move, Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz has pulled a recent campaign commercial after it turned out that the clip, which mocked rival Marco Rubio, featured an adult film actress.

Amy Lindsay, who has acted in multiple adult films such as Erotic Confessions, Carnal Wishes, Secrets of a Chambermaid and Insatiable Desires, had appeared in the Cruz campaign advert decrying Mr Rubio as nothing more than a “pretty face”.

Mr Cruz said the mistake happened unknowingly. “It happened that one of the actresses who was there had a more colourful film history than we were aware,” he told reporters. “We would not have cast her had we known of that history.”

Mr Cruz’s spokesperson Rick Tyler said the campaign was replacing the commercial with another one. Lindsay on Friday said she was “extremely disappointed” with the decision to pull out the commercial, but added that she has no ill will against Mr Cruz.

“I have no ill will towards Ted Cruz right now. He’s got a job to do,” Lindsay told CNN’s Jake Tapper on The Lead. “And I’m a middle-class working girl and I had a job to do.”

Mr Cruz, who won the Republican Iowa Caucus early in February, is currently placed behind frontrunner Donald Trump in both national and South Carolina polls. The primary in South Carolina is scheduled for February 20.

Mr Trump is leading the South Carolina race with 34.5 per cent support, while Mr Cruz has the support of 15.5 per cent, according to a poll. Former Florida governor Jeb Bush is third with 13 per cent and Marco Rubio follows with 12.5 per cent.

Lindsay said she still plans to vote for Mr Cruz.

“Like I said, when I did the ad and the words that came out of my mouth... I was speaking from the heart about some of the issues that I think are true problems in this country that we as Americans are facing today,” she said.

Meanwhile, Mr Trump on Friday began airing a new ad in South Carolina focused on illegal immigration featuring Jamiel Shaw, whose son was brutally murdered by an illegal immigrant. “People wouldn’t be talking about illegal immigration had I not brought it up when I announced I was running for President,” Mr Trump said.