LOS ANGELES—In a first-of-its-kind online event that was live streamed to thousands of fans around the world on Monday night, 10 adult entertainment luminaries joined the official watch party on AVN Stars for the premiere of the 2020 AVN Awards Show presented by MyFreeCams.
The superstar lineup featured 2020 AVN Awards co-hosts Nikki Benz and Emily Bloom; Angela White, Gianna Dior, Joanna Angel, Maitland Ward, Violet Doll, Vicki Chase, Penny Pax and Small Hands—all of whom went live on AVN Stars from their homes as the nationwide lockdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic continues through Week 7.
Benz sipped a cocktail with her Pomeranian Ollie in her arms. Chase held her mini Silky Terrier Bisou and then later grabbed her mini Schnauzer Gertie in between segments; Small Hands even ate a slice of pizza during the broadcast, which also was fueled by the live chat function on the AVN Stars stream, giving fans a chance to comment on the festivities.
For several of the performers seeing their triumphs from an audience’s perspective for the first time, the emotions all came rushing back.
“I feel like it’s happening all over again,” said Gianna Dior, who was crowned Best New Starlet and also won Best Boy/Girl Sex Scene with Mick Blue on Saturday, January 25 at The Joint inside Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
“The anxiety leading up to it—even though I knew I was gonna win right here—I felt like, ‘Oh my god, what if I don’t win?’ When they called my name it was like a sigh of relief. Everything that I had worked so hard for had finally paid off and this is the best part of my 2020 so far.
“It’s like the same feeling all over again. I love it.”
Each of the special guests Monday night answered live questions in real time from AVN Awards Show executive producer Gary Miller during the 90-minute premiere on AVN Stars—the social media and content-sharing platform that officially launched at the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo in January.
Designed specifically for the needs of adult entertainers, AVN Stars is a space where creators can monetize their content without the fear of censorship, discrimination, suspensions or shadow-bans. Creators may charge a subscription fee or make their posts available free of charge.
Angela White, who completed a historic three-peat as AVN Female Performer of the Year in addition to winning Best Leading Actress and nine other awards, told Miller her third straight win could only have come about “through the help of so many others.”
“And it’s through so many others believing in me and being invited to be part of these incredible projects,” White said. “I did Angela White Dark Side with Jules Jordan, Drive with Kayden Kross, Perspective with Bree Mills and countless other scenes and movies…
“And through working with these incredible directors and performers they helped me to grow. … It’s through collaborating with others that I’ve been able to achieve what I have and I’m so grateful for that.”
White added, “And I have to say that winning Best Actress alongside Seth Gamble [who won Best Leading Actor for Perspective] was just such an incredible honor because we all worked so hard on that movie. And just to see Seth up there, that would’ve been enough for me. You could see how teary I was in the audience.”
Maitland Ward, who was an established mainstream actress before making the transition to adult, experienced the thrill of victory again after seeing herself climb on stage to accept the Best Supporting Actress award for her role in Drive for Deeper.com.
“I’m tearing up again,” Ward said last night. “I was really overwhelmed and shocked and it really was one of the most special moments of my life. And that whole walk up to the stage … I did not prepare a speech. I wasn’t going to jinx anything. And I remember telling [Drive director] Kayden, ‘I’m not going to win.’
“Coming from mainstream, my acting talents have been pushed so much more this past year with Drive and things that we’re doing now. I would not be the actress I am today or be going in the direction I am if it hadn’t been for porn—for these AVN Awards—for everybody who really welcomed me with open arms. And I’m just so thankful.
“I’m not somebody who’s just coming in to try to get attention; I genuinely love the art of adult filmmaking.”
Small Hands, who received the Male Performer of the Year trophy, participated in the broadcast with his real-life wife and AVN Hall of Fame producer/performer, Joanna Angel—whose Three Cheers for Satan was crowned Best Action/Thriller during the ceremony—sharing his gratitude for the career he has built after seeing his colorful acceptance speech.
“I’m just happy to be at the party,” Small Hands told Miller. “I don’t know how many times I can say it. I’m just grateful for the life I get to live.”
As Small Hands reflected, Angel was overcome with emotion and briefly stepped away from the video feed.
“You’re making me cry, Gary!” Small Hands continued. “I’m grateful for the experiences I’ve gotten to make, the connections I’ve made with so many women. It’s unreal. It’s an unreal, charmed life.”
Then Miller asked Angel, who was backstage preparing to present another award when Small Hands’ name was announced, for her thoughts about her husband’s accomplishment.
"I knew he was the best, ever since I first met him, ever since he first started, ever since he did his first scene,” Angel said. “It just took a couple years for everyone to catch up to it. It was unreal. It was a beautiful moment.
“And I think everybody knew it was well deserved. Obviously, I’ve known him for a very long time, before he was in porn. He’s always been the hardest working person at any profession he’s ever had, the most passionate person and the most professional person.
“Like I’ve known him to have several jobs and lives in the time that I’ve known him—and we’ve been together for over 10 years now. And no matter what he does—even when he’s cleaning the bathroom or cleaning the dishes—whatever he puts his mind to, he puts everything into and whoever he interacts with in the thing that he’s doing it’s like—it’s magical.”
As Angel shared her heartfelt sentiments, Emily Bloom couldn’t help but wipe away a tear. Bloom later won an award of her own—for Favorite Cam Girl—capping off one of the biggest nights of her career.
The Ukrainian model in 2018 created The Bloom Awards in an effort to honor her MyFreeCams members, turning the show into an annual occasion on cam. She joked that hosting her boutique ceremony from her home and hosting the AVN Awards Show “is kind of like riding a three-wheel bicycle and then getting behind the wheel of a massive-ass truck.”
“I love awards shows and I love awards, so it was always a fun thought for me to host my own show,” Bloom said. “I didn’t know that I was going to end up hosting AVN’s, but it all worked out.”
Bloom, who was the AVN CAMStar in May 2019, said her gold statuette was a pleasant surprise.
“Some of you may know Kati3kat has gotten the award [for Favorite Cam Girl] three years in a row, and so I almost kind of assumed that she kind of had it on lock. And I just campaigned hard and obviously there was a tiny glimmer of hope in my heart,” Bloom said.
“I did not expect it and I was actually backstage filming the screen we had for the previous award on my Snapchat—just to let my guys know this was the result—and my name got yelled. And I just tossed my phone in a random direction and went out on stage. It was magical.”
Her co-host Nikki Benz—among the most accomplished performers ever to hail from Canada—called the evening “amazing.”
“I was so excited and honored,” Benz, a member of the AVN Hall of Fame, said. “Because I’ve been in the industry for a long time—like going on 17, 18 years—and to finally host was incredible.”
Benz, who is from Toronto, said it was difficult keeping the hosting news a secret for months before it was revealed. “That was really hard for me and then to finally come out to people that I’m going to do this, it was just such an amazing feeling,” she added. “It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I’m so grateful.”
Vicki Chase, who hosted the red carpet arrivals, and Penny Pax, who was the backstage host of the Awards Show, gave viewers an unexpected tour of the Adult Entertainment Expo show floor in the form of a “Sex Act Connect 5” game during the broadcast.
Armed with a game board with a series of sex acts on them, the contest entailed them scouring the convention halls looking for a partner with whom they’ve completed a particular sex act. The first girl to connect five sex acts won the contest.
“It got real competitive real fast, wouldn’t you say, Penny?” Chase cracked.
“Yes, there was a lot of cheating,” Pax jested. “There were a lot of things that weren’t allowed but they were allowed.”
“How did I lose? What?” Chase replied.
Pax added, “Here’s the deal. I thought we were supposed to go around the convention floor and explore and I was having a blast with that. And then all of a sudden they were like, ‘We haven’t gotten any signatures.’ I was distracted.”
Chase, the 2015 winner of Best Oral Sex Scene, said, “You kicked ass girl. I really was like, ‘I am in trouble. This is Penny Pax. She brings it. I know she gets around.’ So I’m not even depressed.”
Violet Doll, who graced the cover of the January issue of AVN magazine and occupied the top spot on AVN Stars for most of 2019, said Monday her fan award for Favorite Domme "still doesn’t feel real to me, honestly.
“But at the same time it’s been validation I didn’t even know I needed,” Doll admitted. “It’s brought me a lot of peace.”
As the broadcast wound to a close, Doll lauded her fellow entertainers on the broadcast.
“I’m just happy to be here,” Doll said. “I have so much respect for everyone here and I feel really lucky to be in this group right now. I’m just very grateful, thank you.”
Maitland Ward agreed.
“This has been so much fun to relive everything, seriously one of the best nights of my life,” Ward said. “I was so overwhelmed by everything. And the show was amazing. I was blown away. It was great to see everybody. I can’t wait for next year.”
Gianna Dior concluded that “watching it and experiencing it are two different things and it was so fun to sit here and watch everything.”
“It’s such a comforting feeling just all of us coming together and appreciating each other’s successes and just celebrating each other,” Dior continued.
Angela White added, “During a period where we can’t actually be there together physically this was a great way to come together online.”
The 2020 AVN Awards Show is available on demand at the AVN Stars Clip Store along with select past shows.
Sign up is free at stars.avn.com.
