CHATSWORTH, Calif.—On Thursday evening, the co-hosts of the 2018 AVN Awards Show were revealed to the hundreds of guests assembled at the second annual AVN House Party. At the event, which was sponsored by MyFreeCams.com, the night began with a star-studded red carpet and a set by vocalist Vonzell Solomon, aka Baby V, who took third place on American Idol (behind Carrie Underwood and Bo Bice). Then up came AVN Media Network CEO Tony Rios, who let the cat out of the bag, calling on performer/director Angela White and cam star Harli Lotts one at a time and then showing a video of the two together.
Rios expressed his delight with the two adult celebrities chosen to be the faces of the 2018 AVN Awards Show. “Both Angela and Harli are superstars in their own right,” Rios asserted. “They both have this wonderful mix of talent, beauty, brains and absolutely no aversion to taking risks. As we take the AVN Awards to yet another level in 2018, I can't think of a better combo to do just that.”
Contacted the night before the party, both women were tingling with anticipation— and even though they'd been in the know for weeks, they were still genuinely astonished to find themselves tapped for one of the most high-profile gigs in the adult industry: hosting the porn industry’s equivalent of the Oscars in a variety show that eventually will be broadcast on cable networks around the globe.
Angela White is no stranger to the AVN Awards, having taken home multiple trophies the past two years and served as a presenter at the 2017 show. But she was caught off guard when she was asked to host the 2018 show. “I still can’t believe it, actually. It still feels like a dream,” White said. “I was absolutely shocked when I came into the office and Tony gave me the news. Even now, talking about it, is it real?”
She added, laughing, “My cheeks hurt afterwards from smiling so much.”
Harli Lotts, who in just two short years has become one of the top names on MyFreeCams.com, also made her presence felt on the AVN Awards Show stage—but in a way that suits this cam star’s quirky personality. At the 2017 show, she and fellow MFC performer Kati3kat agreed to “pull a Kanye” if one of them were to win the Fan Award for Favorite Cam Star. When Kati3kat’s name was called, Lotts jumped into action, grabbing the mic while Kati3kat acted out the part of a sideswiped Taylor Swift.
Lotts recalled that she heard the news about her AVN Awards hosting duties when she was at AVN doing a photo shoot for CAMstar, the monthly insert in AVN magazine that features pictorials of MFC models. “I honestly cursed at the person who told me and told them to stop fucking with me because I thought it was a joke,” Lotts said. “I was like, ‘There was no way they’d let me host after what I did last year.’ It took about 10 minutes to convince me because I really was like, ‘I’m not falling for that at all. There’s no way they’re going to give me a mic and a stage.’”
As the initial disbelief subsides, the two co-hosts are looking forward to the challenge. “I am over the moon. I am super excited about it,” Lotts said. “I think this is the best opportunity that has ever been handed to me, and I can’t wait to do it.”
Asked what she’s looking forward to most about being a host at the show, Lotts mentioned meeting porn stars, walking the red carpet and getting to see the performers in their finery. But, she said, “I’m more excited to be back stage after they get their award, or on stage when they’re getting their award, just to see their reactions and their genuine happiness. I’m so excited for that.”
White, who presented an award at the 2017 show, also mentioned the thrill of being involved in rehearsals and seeing what goes on back stage. “It was really cool just to get a feel for behind the scenes. … There are actually hours and hours and days and days and weeks and weeks of work that go into the production of the show that people watching at home don’t know anything about.”
But ultimately, White said, “For me the AVN Awards is all about celebrating the industry, and I’m always so excited to be there and celebrate all the accomplishments that the entire industry has made over the year.”
And being able to be “an important part of acknowledging the achievements of my peers makes me feel really special,” White continued. “So I’m very excited to be up close and personal for those very special moments.”
Lotts and White first met at the photo/video shoot for the AVN Awards Show campaign. Lotts said, “I love her. We spent the whole day together when we were shooting and got to know each other a bit. She’s such a sweet person.”
“It was great,” White recalled. “It was a lot of fun. The concept was wonderful. We had so many amazing costumes … there was glitter everywhere by the end of the night. I was getting glitter off of me for a few days afterwards.”
White added, “And obviously my co-host is amazing. I’m so grateful to be able to host with someone who is such a huge cam star and she’s obviously beautiful. She is very intelligent and she’s very personable, and I think we’re going to look great together, because you’ve got the blonde and brunette combo. I’m really excited to be up there with her.”
White’s confidence in Lotts as a partner in crime is warranted. Though she’s only celebrated her second “camiversary,” Lotts’ star is on the rise. Christopher Trout, writing last month for Engadget.com, had much to say about Lotts, noting that the cam performer “knows her audience better than just about anyone I've ever met in online media. In just two years, the bubbly blonde from El Paso, Texas, has gone from manager of a rent-to-own store to rising internet starlet by making personal connections with a loyal online audience.”
In the article, which explores “the semi-nude lives of webcam stars,” Trout writes, “Lotts is a social media star in the truest sense of the word. She is one of a growing number of independent, live streaming video personalities who can make thousands of dollars in just a few hours broadcasting mostly unremarkable acts for a captive internet audience. She just happens to do some of it naked.”
Asked about her style of camming, Lotts said, “Mine’s more of the girl next door, like your best friend in high school that you never got to hang out with and you always dreamed about. I’m more like that best friend. I’ll hang out and talk to you about everything. It’s really laid back in my room.”
In the issue of CAMstar that profiles her, Lotts describes the ins and outs of camming, noting, “Most people assume you just have to look pretty and jump online and take your clothes off—well, yes, that’s true somewhat. However, to be successful at camming it takes personality and jokes … Lotts and Lotts of jokes.”
She reminds models, “YOUR room is what you make it. If it is a place of laughs and giggles it will be more entertaining and a fun escape for everyone.”
Lotts said she’s looking forward to finally being able to talk about her AVN Awards hosting duties. “I’ve been keeping this secret—I just want to pop. I just can’t wait until it’s announced already and I can tell everybody.”
And who is the first person she’ll want to call?
“Oh, man. I would probably call my brother because I think he would be the most excited,” Lotts mused. “He’d be, like, no way. I think I would have to convince him like they had to convince me.”
After that, of course, she’ll be eager to tell her fans. “I think everyone is going to be thrilled. … I think a lot of them are going to want to go to the show,” Lotts predicted. “I have people all over the world who will fly in.”
A globe-trotter herself, White got her start in her native Australia as a girl/girl performer in 2003. Over the years she’s taken things slow and strategically. She made her first foray into boy/girl scenes in 2011, with Angela White Finally Fucks. While still in Australia she focused on webcamming and shooting for her own site. And then in 2014 she stepped into high gear, producing her own movies to be distributed by Girlfriends Films. Finally, in 2016, she moved to the United States, signed with Spiegler Girls and began shooting for other companies while continuing to direct her own movies.
“I’m having so much fun performing and I’m learning so much about myself, not just as a performer but as a director and producer, so there’s still a lot more for me to explore,” White said. “I’m really excited to be here and to have been so welcomed by the U.S. and our industry. It’s been a lot of fun. I’m glad that I made the move.”
White shared a few details about what’s ahead from her own imprint, AGW Entertainment. Coming soon is Angela Loves Anal. “I know a lot of fans love my anal scenes, so I figured it would be smart to release a whole DVD where it’s all anally focused,” White said. “Angela 1 had my first anal and Angela 2 had a lot of anal in it, but there hasn’t been a DVD that’s solely focused on anal sex, so I think it’s going to be a fan favorite.”
But another movie has the Aussie star even more fired up. “I’ve actually been working on Angela 3, which is my biggest movie to date. I’m in post-production right now so I’m editing it. A lot of people don’t know I edit my own scenes and movies and titles. I’m actually in the editing suite today, editing some of the tease sequences,” White revealed.
“I thought that when I released Angela Volume 2, that was my magnum opus. That was the biggest thing I’d ever created; I didn’t ever think I’d go bigger than that,” White continued. “I did double anal and double vag, I did gangbangs—I felt like I did everything in that movie. And then when I challenged myself to actually go further for Angela 3, I am happy and excited and surprised to say that it is actually bigger and better than Angela 2, which I didn’t think was possible. So I’m very excited to be bringing that out this year.”
In terms of critical acclaim, White has a solid track record with her AGW Entertainment releases. In 2016, Angela 2 garnered White trophies for Best All-Girl Group Sex Scene and Best Oral Sex Scene, while Angela Loves Women was named Best All-Girl Movie. And in 2017, Angela Loves Gonzo earned Best Gonzo Movie honors and her Angela Loves ... titles won Best Continuing Series.
This year, White got her AVN Awards surprise early, when she was asked to host the show. “I want to thank AVN very much for believing in me and for giving me this opportunity,” she said. “It’s a huge responsibility and obviously I want to do the event justice. So I just want to say a big thank you to everyone at AVN for allowing me to take on this great honor.”
The 2018 AVN Awards Show takes place Saturday, January 27, 2018 inside The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas. For more information, visit AVN.com/awards.
