For the past 11 years, the Transgender Erotica Awards had been the most anticipated event of the year in the trans porn industry, and the 2020 show on March 15—perhaps more than any of its predecessors—would be no different.
“There was definitely a lot of excitement,” executive producer Kristel Penn said. “Everyone always looks forward to the TEAs.”
If only it could’ve been three days earlier.
Instead—72 hours before the stars and paparazzi were to arrive at the red carpet—Avalon owners notified Penn and TEAs founder Steven Grooby that they were following California Gavin Newsom’s advice and canceling all events for the rest of the month because of COVID-19.
As frustrating as it was, Grooby and Penn said they understood the decision and had already started contacting performers the night before to tell them to hold off on travel.
“We wanted to be safe,” Penn said. “Our event is one that is very touchy. People want to hug and celebrate. We were going back and forth, talking about the safety risks and the responsibility we had to protect our community.
“Still, I was conflicted, because selfishly I still really wanted there to be a show.”
Two months later, there will be.
The best in trans porn will be celebrated Sunday when an online version of the TEAs airs on grooby247.com at 7 PST.
As was the plan for the live event, adult icon Domino Presley will be the show’s Mistress of Ceremonies for the pre-recorded program, which will be free to viewers and available for replay on various platforms.
Grooby initially hoped to reschedule the live show in Hollywood for this summer, but once COVID-related restrictions were enhanced, he realized an internet version of the awards was the next-best thing.
“So many performers and their fans are waiting to hear the results,” Grooby said, “so moving forward with a digital show seemed like the right thing to do.”
With Presley leading the way, the show will still feature nomination reels and pre-recorded speeches from presenters and award winners, who will be notified ahead of time.
“We won’t be sitting in the room together,” Penn said, “but it will still feel close to what the live show would’ve been, at least in terms of structure. As far as what the audience will see, it will be one seamless production.”
Grooby and Penn said they are thankful almost all of the TEAs sponsors—including presenting sponsor ManyVids—have continued to show support despite the cancellation of the live show.
“The digital show should get them a lot of exposure,” Grooby said, “as after the live broadcast it will be available for viewing on various platforms.
“I believe … we’ve got something that speaks of these times. It should be fun and engaging to watch as the nominees and winners are announced. Some have sent in very creative video clips, so it's more than just talking heads.”
Penn, who tallied the votes for the awards, said the competition was “very, very tight” in almost every category. And understandably so. Grooby said there’s “an overload” of models entering the industry hoping to become the next Aubrey Kate, Lena Kelly, Natalie Mars, Daisy Taylor or Casey Kisses.
“We’re seeing much more acceptance within the industry for trans performers,” Grooby said. “If you look at the wide amount of companies that now sponsor the TEA's, these are companies we'd have had difficulty attracting a few years ago.
“Trans performers have worked on productions that are traditionally non-trans, and within self-production, we're seeing a lot of cis performers wanting to work with trans models.”
In November, Aubrey Kate became the first trans performer to grace the cover of AVN Magazine and she was also a presenter at the AVN Awards, which features several trans categories.
Still, no event honors the trans porn genre like the TEA Awards, which is why Penn and Grooby felt so compelled to produce Sunday’s online show.
“It’s the one time of the year that our part of the industry gets celebrated exclusively,” Penn said. “I really appreciate the strides that the other shows have made that are non trans-specific, in terms of trans inclusion. But the truth is that the adult industry is so vast. Even within the trans genre, there’s such diversity within us. There’d be no way for a non-trans specific show to capture all of that.
“For that reason, I felt a great responsibility to make sure this show still happened.”
Grooby agrees.
And while he’s excited to watch Sunday’s festivities online, he’s looking even more forward to March of 2021, when he’ll be commemorating the 25th year of his company. Suffice to say, next year’s TEAs could be a party like no other.
“A much larger, celebratory show,” Grooby predicted. “We’ll be looking at yearlong celebrations.”
