Forgot to RSVP? Here’s what went down at the PornHub awards
Mark our words: you need to stop sleeping on the PornHub Awards. Not to be confused with the longer-running AVN Awards, the awards ceremony marked its second edition on 11 October at Los Angeles’ Orpheum Theatre. Whilst nothing could match up to the inaugural ceremony, which was literally creative-directed by Kanye West and spawned some NSFW, resale-worthy Yeezy merch, the follow-up proved its music cred was second to none.
Undoubtedly down to the influence and industry clout of Benny Blanco, who was tapped as Musical Director, the ceremony featured performances from a slew of hot-right-now artists including Ty Dolla $ign, Bad Bunny and Kali Uchis. Also on the billing were more left-field selections including “sugar trap” pioneer Rico Nasty, Blood Orange collaborator Ian Isiah and self-proclaimed “fetish rapper” Tommy Genesis.
Alongside more familiar industry categories — such as Most Popular Female Performer, Most Popular Male Performer, Most Popular Verified Amateur, Top BBW Performer and Most Popular Gay Performer — actress and weed mogul Bella Thorne was honoured with the Vision award for erotic short Her & Him (sorry cheapskates, it’s only available on PornHub Premium!). Speaking of the win, Thorne said: “it brings me such joy to see this being recognised for what it truly is… beautiful, visionary art.”
The PornHub Awards form part of the Mind Geek-owned site’s PR offensive to establish itself as culturally relevant in all areas of life, not just dans la boudoir. In recent months, for example, PornHub launched the ecophile Beesexual channel devoted to the birds, the bees and averting climate catastrophe via nature porn. With endeavours such as this tapping into pressing social issues, and a star-studded, consumer-facing awards ceremony (as opposed to the arguably more industry-facing AVNs) PornHub is consolidating the monopoly it currently enjoys over our most intimate of streaming habits.
So, no matter how much you enjoyed the PornHub Awards, it’s important that we also support indie porn-makers who push forward our understanding of gender, sexuality and what constitutes “good sex”. Get yourself over to Erika Lust’s XConfessions, stat!
