CHATSWORTH, Calif.—Call her porn's answer to Leonardo DiCaprio, or Susan Lucci, or Al Pacino ... the list goes on, but Adriana Chechik has one thing in common with all of them: they were dealt a lot of snubs before finally winning the top awards many felt they'd long deserved.
This year, Chechik at last claimed AVN's Female Performer of the Year trophy, and when she took to the podium to accept, she put a bow on the occasion by underscoring her seeming twist of fate with the evening's most memorable line: "First Donald Trump, and now Adriana Chechik, Female Performer of the Year."
For anyone unsure of exactly what she intended to imply by that remark—and there were many, from the post-awards scuttlebutt—Chechik clarified to AVN: "You know, I just think I shouldn't have said 'I'm so happy' afterwards, like my pause wasn't long enough. But I felt like it was something that was never going to happen, and I felt the same way about Trump winning; I thought for sure, no matter how many people are rooting for him, he was not going to win, so I just had the same feeling about myself—like Hell has frozen over because these two people are at the top right now. But I want to make it clear that I am not a Trump supporter."
Asked whether she came up with the zinger on the spot or had written it beforehand, Chechik disclosed, "So the day before was the only day it sunk in that I was like, 'Oh shit, I could possibly win.' Before that, I was so in the mode I was going to be happy to lose this year, but the morning before, I just had so much positive energy and everyone telling me so many things that I was like, 'Well shit, I might win.' And I had a flashback to the year before last when I had won the award [for Best Anal Sex Scene] and I just was loud and obnoxious and a little too toasted and drunk, and I wanted to make sure that I wasn't overwhelmed and crying and I had a little bit of a game plan, so I did write out a couple of one-liners, and that was the only one that stuck."
Chechik's nervousness over the Female Performer prize was exacerbated, she said, because of her win at the top of the show for Best Oral Sex Scene, for her star showcase Adriana Chechik: The Ultimate Slut (Jonni Darkko/Evil Angel). "I was super excited to win that award," she explained, "and I honestly thought AVN was like, 'All right, here's your award. No more for the night.' But there was a moment before the show where Asa [Akira] came up to me and was like, 'Dude, I want you to win,' and she kind of, when she was on stage [presenting Female Performer of the Year], she said, 'Yes, this is who I wanted,' and as soon as she said that, I knew it was me. Beforehand I was like shaking in my chair, I think I like broke off Megan Rain's hand in anticipation. I was already crying before they even announced it."
Summing up her feelings about it all, she submitted, "I just want everyone in the industry to know how much I fucking love them, and I really, it was so nice, like the standing ovation and all the comments, I felt nothing but positivity, even from the people that were in the same categories as me. I think it's pretty amazing to have so many people just wish the best for you, when last year I was so upset I couldn't do the same, so it's really cool to see the industry just come together like that, and I feel I had like 10 or 12 text messages from people saying, 'This is a win for all of us,' and that was so amazing, and so nice to hear. So I just feel really honored."
What does Adriana Chechik have in store for 2017? "Well I'm definitely going to be doing another showcase with Darkko," she revealed. "But I think the next big thing is I'm going to try and do some directing this year. But I just want to go even harder this year. I want to show people that I've given it my all, but I can always one-up myself and get better over time. I'm gonna try to win the title next year. And I also just want to be a good example for everyone. I want to really go out of my way to help out the new girls and help to promote everyone, even if I don't care for them. I just want to be positive and spread the love and set a good example."
