VAN NUYS, Calif.—In a truly unexpected move, the Washington, DC-based political action committee “American Solutions for Winning the Future” (ASWF) Wednesday informed Allison Vivas, president of the adult entertainment studio Pink Visual, that she is the recipient of the organization's Entrepreneur of the Year award for 2009. The PAC, which is headed by noted conservative politician Newt Gingrich, notified Vivas of the honor via fax.
Friday, however, as suddenly as the accolade was bestowed, it was rescinded by ASWF in an early morning call to Vivas by an unnamed representative.
Before the call came, however, Vivas expressed her appreciation—and surprise—at receiving an award from the far right wing of the political spectrum.
“I’m honored, and more than a little surprised, to receive this prestigious award,” Vivas said. “It never occurred to me that Newt Gingrich, one of the principal architects of the conservative ‘Contract with America’ in the 1990s, would be willing to brave criticism from the far right of his party in order to recognize good work done on the part of an adult entertainment professional.”
According to the notice from ASWF, should Vivas attend a private dinner scheduled to occur Oct. 7 at the historic Capitol Hill Club, she will “dine privately with Newt,” who will then take the occasion to present Vivas with her “well deserved award” and pose for a photo with her.
The notice from ASWF also informed Vivas that Gingrich is “looking forward to finally meeting [Vivas] face to face – and get[ting] your thoughts on Cap and Trade and Obama’s Tax Policy.”
Vivas expressed her intention to use the occasion as a chance to educate the former Speaker about issues pertinent to her industry.
“Rest assured, I’ll take the opportunity to inform Mr. Gingrich of some of the major challenges facing the adult entertainment industry in the current market,” Vivas said. “From obscenity prosecutions to content piracy, I’ll make sure he walks away from that dinner educated about the realities of the online porn market. Why else would they have invited me but to hear such feedback, right?”
In addition to a certificate recognizing her as Entrepreneur of the Year, ASWF stated Gingrich also planned to present Vivas with a replica of the “gavel that changed America,” whether or not she attended the dinner. No word yet on whether the gavel will be put to use in a future video from Pink Visual, although Vivas acknowledged it would “make for a pretty cool prop for a ‘Couples Seduce Teens’ episode.”
Friday, it was left to Q Boyer, marketing coordinator for Pink Visual, to break the sad news that ASWF apparently had made a mistake and consequently had rescinded the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"Allison was disappointed to receive a call this morning from an ASWF representative stating that the fax had been sent to her 'inadvertently,'" Boyer told AVN.com. “We're not entirely clear on how one 'inadvertently' sends a fax to the right person at the correct fax number, so our sense is that this is damage control on the part of a group that is having second thoughts about either recognizing the excellent work of a porn company entrepreneur in light of their own conservative political and social orientation, or having second thoughts about their promotional methodology and communication protocols."
Should be good fodder for a cable news cycle or two.
