LOS ANGELES — Nine months before she captured the most-coveted honor at the 39th annual AVN Awards—making her the new face of the adult industry—Gianna Dior was bedridden at Northridge Hospital in Los Angeles, paralyzed from the neck down.
“I thought my life was over,” the newly-minted Female Performer of the Year said Saturday. “I literally … almost … died.”
Unbeknownst to her, Dior’s body was suddenly rejecting Vitamin B, causing damage to her spinal cord. After a week of spoon-feeding—even her fingers wouldn’t move—nearly a month of rehab, and a flurry of B-12 shots, Dior returned to normalcy. Had she waited even two more weeks to report the condition, doctors said Dior would’ve been wheelchair-bound for the rest of her life.
“It was terrifying,” Dior said, “and it changed me forever. I came out of it with a totally different mindset. I’m grateful for everything now. I’m appreciative of every day.”
Perhaps that’s why Dior’s smile was wider than ever Saturday after nabbing four awards—including the porn industry’s biggest individual honor. Winning is always sweet, she said, but doing so in the face of adversity makes it taste even better.
That theme was common during Saturday’s all-digital ceremony presented by MyFreeCams, which took place on a sound stage in suburban LA and was streamed to an international audience on AVNAwards.com. Much like Dior, many of the victors achieved success by flourishing in the face of adversity.
Tommy Pistol finally took home his first-ever Male Performer of the Year award after feeling overlooked for nearly a decade because he’s not as chiseled and endowed as some of his colleagues. Ricky Greenwood captured his first Director of the Year honor, making the most of his modest budgets in a category full of heavyweights. And no one’s name was called more than trans star Casey Kisses, whose life struggles were documented in “Casey: A True Story.” The biopic claimed the biggest honor of the night by winning the Grand Reel award, which lauds the top full-length film of the year.
Hosted by Mia Malkova and Mighty Emelia, Saturday’s 90-minute ceremony featured awards in more than 120 categories. April Olsen, Madison Summers and Anna Claire Clouds served as Trophy Girls while other performers were presenters in the closed-to-the-public event.
Among the highlights of the broadcast were live look-ins at watch parties everywhere from the JulModels gathering in Budapest, Hungary, to the Hussie Models House in Fort Lauderdale to Motley Manor in Woodland Hills. Director Joanna Angel also hosted an event at her Los Angeles-area home, and it was fitting that cameras were there to document her reaction when Casey: A True Story captured Grand Reel honors.
Angel directed the film that chronicles the inward and outward struggles Kisses encountered in her early 20s when trying to decide whether to transition. Along with coming out to her father shortly after his release from federal prison—where he served 12 years for attempted murder—Kisses was devastated when her motorcycle gang alienated her after she revealed her true self.
Instead of wallowing in self pity, Kisses fought back.
Seeking a fresh start, she fled her poverty-stricken Miami neighborhood in 2016 and moved to Las Vegas, where she found an identity in the adult industry. Nearly six years later, she has more than one million social media followers, a six-figure income and a fiance in fellow performer Kylie le Beau.
“My story definitely has a happy ending,” Kisses told AVN via phone late Saturday night. “To have people draw inspiration from what I went through, from my tough times, is really rewarding. This story is helping people—not just young trans women, but everybody.”
Casey: A True Story took home seven awards Saturday night, easily making it the biggest winner of the ceremony. And Kisses, who joined the broadcast via Zoom, won four individual awards including Trans Performer of the Year, Favorite Trans Cam Star and Best Thespian – Trans/X.
Arguably no category in 2022 boasted a field as competitive as Best New Starlet, which was as stacked from top to bottom as it’s ever been. Nearly two months of anticipation reached its crescendo as 2021 winner Scarlit Scandal prepared to present the trophy.
“Never have doubts,” Scandal said as she addressed the candidates. “Never forget who you are or where you came from. Always stay true to yourself. You’re about to go on one of the best rides of your life. Never forget it and embrace it and cherish every fucking second. And girl, if you feel pressure, don’t worry, because diamonds are made under pressure."
Seconds later, Scandal announced that Blake Blossom, the buxom blonde from Arizona, had emerged as the winner.
“I was truly surprised,” Blossom told AVN via phone Sunday morning. “I think having big, natural boobs gives me an advantage over a lot of people.”
Blossom, who also won the fan-voted award for Hottest Newcomer, may have been selling herself short. Known as a passionate, high-level performer, she’s shot more than 200 scenes since entering the industry in 2020. Blossom said she studies scenes involving legends such as Jenna Jameson and Angela White for inspiration.
“I’ve worked very hard,” Blossom said. “I’ve spent the last two years doing nothing but porn and building my brand. I’m spending all of my free time doing content and trying to get my name out there. I’m trying to be a young woman that shows the good side of porn and not slip into drugs or alcohol like a lot of people do. I’ve really, really tried my best, so it feels amazing to have other people recognize that.”
Speaking of fresh faces, two other rookies were honored during Saturday’s broadcast.
Romy Indy, who joined the broadcast from the Netherlands, was voted Best New International Starlet. The 5-foot-9 bombshell shot more than 80 scenes during her first year and was also nominated for Best International Lesbian Sex Scene alongside Amirah Adara.
Winning for Best Male Newcomer was Anton Harden, who did extensive work for Vixen Media Group in 2021 and also notched a win for Best Gangbang Scene for his role in a romp with Emily Willis and others for Willis’ showcase, Influence Emily Willis. Flashing a diamond-studded Vixen logo that hung from his necklace, Harden promised even bigger things in 2022.
So, too, did Little Caprice, who was named International Female Performer of the Year for the second time since 2020. Caprice joined the broadcast from Austria along with her husband, Marcello Bravo. She was nominated for seven awards overall, winning trophies for Best International Lesbian Sex Scene (with Lottie Magne) and Best International Group Sex Scene, a tryst that included Willis, the 2021 Female Performer of the Year.
Willis, in fact, captured a ceremony-high five golden statues. She kicked off the show by winning Best Girl/Girl Sex Scene with Vanna Bardot. Soon after, she was awarded Best Star Showcase for Influence Emily Willis, a comedic but steamy production depicting real events throughout her life.
“Thank you, Kayden (Kross), you fucking brilliant woman, for writing this showcase and making it so true to my soul,” said Willis, who has now won 14 AVN Awards over the past two years. “It’s so special to me. We worked our fucking asses off on this. Everyone that was involved in this showcase literally came and fucked me out. It was a fucking masterpiece.”
Some might consider “masterpiece” to be a fitting term to describe Under the Veil, Blue Moon Rising and Sweet Sweet Sally Mae—the films that helped Greenwood win Director of the Year. Greenwood’s victory should hardly be considered an upset, as he’s been on the cusp of greatness since transitioning into the industry from mainstream in 2017.
“This year, I worked so much,” Greenwood told AVN Sunday morning. “I thought, ‘I can’t do anymore than I just did. It’s already too much. If I can’t pull it off this time, I’ll never be able to pull it off.’”
Greenwood said he was impressed by the number of different names and companies listed among this year’s award winners.
“Everybody got a little bit of love this year, and I’m happy about that,” he said. “It wasn’t a dominant thing. AVN recognized that everyone did a great job and it gave everyone a little love. It’s a good representation of the industry, because it’s not just one studio that does a good job. There are a lot of studios that do great jobs.”
While all of his projects were of high caliber, Greenwood’s signature film of 2021 was Under the Veil. Set in the late 1960s, the movie addresses the once-controversial subject of a female’s role in the Catholic church.
The film led to a Best Leading Actress nod for Kenna James, who plays a novice nun who teases and seduces a priest (Pistol) as he attempts to ascend in the church hierarchy. James forgot to unmute her microphone during her acceptance speech on Zoom, the only snafu in an otherwise flawless virtual ceremony. Greenwood was more than happy to sing her praises.
“We wrote that movie for her and she was phenomenal in everything,” Greenwood said. “She was a trooper. She was there a long time on set and she did her job.”
Under the Veil also a scored a Best Leading Actor trophy thanks to a powerful performance by Pistol, who swept all three acting categories. A Screen Actors Guild member who was once part of a comedy troupe, Pistol won Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Kisses’ ill-tempered father in Casey: A True Story. And he was awarded Best Actor - Featurette for "Second Chance," a MissaX two-parter with Penny Barber.
In what was easily the most memorable acceptance speech of the night, Pistol seemed genuinely moved by his various honors.
“Every time I go to work,” he said, “I laugh. I’m around really good people and I’m grateful. I’m grateful for everything. I’m really, really proud of this. I’m a little verklempt. For everyone who is trooping along … we’re holding our head up and pretending everything’s fine, when it’s not. But we’re keeping a smile on our face and we’re still doing our job. I can do my job because I’m around all of you good, positive people.”
Pistol smiled.
“It’s fucking deserved, Goddamnit!” he said. “I don’t have a huge penis! So for everyone out there that has a slightly-above-average-penis, this is for you!”
Alexis Fawx also caused some chuckles after being named MILF Performer of the Year for the second time since 2020. Fawx said she was shocked to hear her name called and didn’t have much of an acceptance speech prepared.
“Don’t cry! Don’t cry! Don’t cry!” she said. “Don’t throw up! Don’t throw up!"
The laughter that Pistol and Fawx evoked would have been soothing to Mark Stone, the late Hall of Fame director known for his comedic sense of humor. Stone died of liver cancer in 2016 at age 61. To honor Stone, AVN announced last fall that the Mark Stone Comedy Award would be given each year to single out the art of comedy in adult production. The inaugural trophy went to Axel Braun, for his hit parody Black Widow XXX, which captured four trophies overall.
Angela White, who has won more AVN trophies than anyone in history, won Favorite Female Porn Star, Most Spectacular Boobs and Favorite Social Media Star—all fan-voted awards—for the third consecutive year. MyFreeCams' Happy Yulia was named Favorite Cam Girl, accepting the award from Ukraine, and Abella Danger snared Most Epic Ass honors for the fourth consecutive time.
As for Dior, she may not be a household name like White and Danger, who are among the most famous adult stars in history, but if the trajectory of her career continues to ascend as it has the past three years, it’s only a matter of time.
“This past year, I went through a lot of fucking bullshit,” Dior, who is 24, said. “I thought about quitting. I thought about how I’d won what I wanted to win.”
Dior held up her Female Performer of the Year trophy and smiled.
“But this is the one I really always wanted to win,” she said. “So I thought, ‘I’ll stick it out for another year and see what happens.’ And now I won, so I guess I’m here for a little longer.”
With that, Dior put on her coat, picked up her new loot and headed for the door. She said she had no plans to go out and celebrate. Instead she was already thinking of ways to solve a dilemma that would face her when she arrived home.
“My fans (tease me) about how all of my awards are on top of my refrigerator,” Dior said with a laugh. “I’m going to have to get a trophy case, because I don’t think they’ll fit up there anymore.”
Click here for the full winners list.
To view the broadcast in its entirety, click here.
Photography by @KogaFoto
