CHATSWORTH, Calif.—Chi Chi LaRue, Sister Roma and Jason Sechrest will vie for the first-ever Personality of the Year award during the 12th annual GAYVN Awards celebration. During the gala evening, the three seasoned entertainers will stamp the proceedings with their own personal touches, doubtless giving new dimension to the term “spectacle.”
GAYVN Hall of Fame director, DJ and drag diva LaRue possesses one of the most recognizable names and faces in the adult entertainment industry. She began her career in the late 1980s working in the publicity department at Catalina Video, a label she later acquired under the auspices of Channel 1 Releasing, which she co-founded in 1998. LaRue directed her first gay adult film for Catalina in 1988, and since then has directed more than 100 others for her own companies and straight adult studio Vivid Entertainment. In 2008, she opened an eponymous boutique on Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood, Calif.
In addition to producing and directing award-winning porn, LaRue is known as an outspoken advocate for safer sex in the gay and heterosexual realms. Her larger-than-life DJ persona frequently rocks the house at events worldwide.
“I think fans should vote for me [for Personality of the Year] because I’m everywhere!” she exclaimed. “I am the party. And I want everyone everywhere to have fun. I’ve spent my entire career helping people get off and get down in the bedroom and on the dance floor.”
Sister Roma! There’s No Place Like Rome—who explains her name as a “The Wizard of Oz meets the Pope kind of thing”—has been one of the most outspoken and visible members of San Francisco’s benevolent Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence since 1987. She is an activist-fundraiser and champion of free speech, speaking publicly at demonstrations, colleges and universities, on television and radio and in print about topics including human sexuality, homophobia and the adult entertainment industry. Together with her Sisters, Roma has been on the front lines in the war against HIV and AIDS, raising awareness and funds for various HIV service and educational organizations.
Like LaRue, Roma is everywhere. Whether hosting red-carpet events at awards shows or frazzling straight-man Tim Valenti on their web-based talk show, The Tim and Roma Show, “the world’s most photographed nun” is a one-queen tour de farce. She also serves as the art director for Hot House Entertainment.
“I’m thrilled to be nominated for personality of the year...and just between you and me, I feel like I’ll probably win,” she said. “Everybody knows that I have a fantastic personality. Hell, I have five or six fantastic personalities. It’s true—I’ve been diagnosed.
“I’d like to remind everyone that I will exchange sexual favors for votes,” she added. “Which means if you vote for me I’ll do you a favor and not have sex with you. Otherwise, watch out!”
Sechrest has been called both the Oprah and the Perez Hilton of porn, depending on his mood. Published in entertainment tabloids since the age of 15, he began penning profiles and personality pieces about the men and women of gay and straight porn in 2001 when he launched one of the first adult entertainment blogs, JasonCurious.com. Unabashedly sexual, tremendously difficult to embarrass and annoyingly energetic, Sechrest has snagged half a dozen awards for his site, and Arena magazine labeled him one of the “Top 50 Most Powerful People in Porn” alongside industry luminaries like LaRue, Hugh Hefner and Larry Flynt. He parlayed that success into gigs as a web-based talk show host, nightclub emcee, director, talent agent and publicist.
“A clown…a clown that is a nun…and me,” he said of the Personality of the Year nominees, tongue firmly in cheek. “I don’t think this should really be a very difficult choice. Clowns are scary. Clowns are evil. I don’t know if you ever saw the movie Stephen King’s IT, but I’m gonna be honest: It made me pee my pants a little when I was a child. Chi Chi LaRue and Sister Roma still make me pee my pants today. And then they lick it up. Sick, twisted, child-eating, pee-loving clowns.
“And me? I’m just a guy who started a little site called JasonCurious.com to try to show who porn stars really are behind the scenes, de-objectifying them by portraying them as human beings instead of objects so…. Your call. Vote it up.”
The Personality of the Year trophy will be awarded to the nominee who, in the eyes of fans, embodies the sexiest, zaniest, most over-the-top non-sexual performer in the gay adult industry. All three nominees will appear on stage during the GAYVN Awards gala, scheduled to take place Sept. 24 in San Francisco’s historic Castro Theatre in conjunction with the annual Folsom Street Fair.
Other events scheduled for the weekend include a bar crawl through the SoMa district, the massive Magnitude party, NakedSword’s “Lockdown” after-party and the fair itself. For a complete schedule of events, visit GAYVNAwards.com.
Industry admission is $100 (email Beth Noonan for details). General admission is $145; VIP admission—which includes priority seating and entrance to the exclusive after-party—is $175. Both general and VIP tickets are available at GAYVNAwards.com.
