Earlier this week, gay adult film performer Hugh Hunter turned down each of his nominations for The GayVN Awards, an annual awards ceremony.
In a lengthy Tweet, he called out both the organization and the industry as a whole for racism.
“The gay porn industry has always been a place of veiled racism and bigotry,” he writes.
“It now appears as if the GayVN Awards have chosen to make this racism and bigotry more blatant in their return to the awards arena. As I browsed through the GayVN award nomination categories and its endless list of nominees I noticed a category which immediately struck my sensibilities as wrong and, quite frankly, turned my stomach.”
He was particularly angry about the separate “Ethnic” category for “black, Latin, and Asian” actors:
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“Why? Why were these scenes not just included in the best scene category? Why would a gay porn company choose to separate minority groups into their own race at an event that is supposed to celebrate the gay industry in its entirety? Why would this category be created in 2017 when the political climate is so thick with racial divide in this country? Why would they call it ethnic? Who uses the term ethnic?
Related: Gay adult film star Antonio Biaggi goes on racist rant against Beyoncé fans
Other adult entertainers like Sean Zevran were quick to offer up their two cents on the issue.
In response to his message, a spokesperson for the award show says:
“This category was never intended to restrict performers of any non-European ethnic background from competing fully in ANY other category “whether in the judged categories or the Fan Award categories.”
They also offered a “heartfelt, unequivocal apology to anyone who felt that the category of Best Ethnic Scene was an attempt to slight performers of color.”
That category has now been removed from the ceremony altogether. The awards show will be held January 21, 2018, in Las Vegas.
tham
Isn’t all the awards based on sales anyways? Or is there an academy of sex perverts who study each scene for production values and….acting?
Bob LaBlah
This show hasn’t been held in over seven years. The last show ended up being known more for Michael Lucas’ berating of Brent Corrigan for allegedly taking advantage of a porn producer while knowing he was underage. Anything involving Lucas is enough for the smart ones to stay away because the guy becomes a belligerent ass once he gets loaded or high. I had to pull a HUGE (as in 290lbs) black friend of mine away from him at the Gayety theatre in NYC back in the 1990’s when Lucas decided to start making monkey sounds and he, my friend, was the only black person around. Everyone knew who he was aiming those sounds at and no one wanted to believe what they were seeing. The man (Lucas) is nuts, trust me.
https://www.queerty.com/michael-lucas-promoting-brent-corrigan-promotes-child-porn-20090402
Jaxton
Prostitutes have no scruples.
Stache
Own a mirror?
Kangol
Good, unless GayVN is specifically designated as a “white” or “black” or “latinx” or “asian american,” etc. award program. Now they can consider people of all races and ethnicities for the various categories. What’s wrong with that?
Danny595
In a market where the porn consumer is 75% white, you don’t need to have a white category. In Japan, which has a large, indigenous porn industry and where the consumers are close to 0% white, it would be perfectly understandable and not offensive if they had a “white” category.
Even if you are dumb enough to use a fake word like Latinx (which you fail to capitalize, you racist) in daily life, it would have no application in the context of gay porn. Gay porn consumers pay to see Latino performers, not Latinx performers. Men. Not women. Not transgenders. Not non-binary mental patients.
Kangol
That response really upset you, but then anything that challenges your rigid notions of gender upsets you. Your fear and self-loathing is as loud as a broken car horn. Oh, and latinx isn’t “racist,” tontona, latinxs created the term!
Danny595
Your refusal to capitalize the word is racist, not the word itself. Read.
Bob LaBlah
Some how I still don’t think people are going to flock to Las Vegas to see the show. With the availability of free, home made porn on the net who cares about a show where the winners are already known (the winners will be from the studios that helped with the expenses of the show). My guess is DeAngelo Jackson will walk away with something providing he shows up as will several other so called big name stars but overall I would suggest to all to simply keep their money in their pockets unless they just have to go out and see for themselves how silly these porn shows really are regardless of whether strait or gay.
Dymension
I’m Latino and I love seeing “Ethnic” videos.
DCguy
Mo Bros new screename on the other post defending a white supremacist is on here defending a segregated category.
What a shock.
SiamSam
Hmmm. I hate hyper PC SJW BS but it always bothered me that “Interracial” was a search term and category in porn. What difference does skin color make? Hot is hot. Still, not going to jump on the “Sexual racism sux” bandwagon.
Creamsicle
I actually think it’s helpful to have an Interracial category when searching for porn. I just wonder why it’s always black men topping white men and rarely any other combination of colors, ethnicities, or sexual activities. Not everyone is into anal or into topping. Why keep pushing the myth of the total top black man?
Tobi
OK, you win, the ‘category’ goes, as does any chance of an award for a non-white artist.
Jaxton
You’re all so obsessed about racism in porn. Well, how about discrimination against bisexual men in porn? You don’t want to admit it because women in porn are its greatest practitioners.
AVN sucks balls.
Ummmm Yeah
And when all white people win because they are the most popular and sell the most videos, whiners will throw a fit and it will turn into the welfare awards like the Oscars.
richard2179
I’m cool with the welfare awards as it’s better entertainment!
Brody
We should all be so very proud knowing that minority pornography actors now have social justice in the self-promotional awards arena.
DCguy
So three of Mo Bros GOP troll screenames all came on here to attack the idea of not segregating.
We get it, you’re anti-lgbt and racist.
BriBri
Everyone is an activist today, it’s so tiring. I just want to suck dick.
heckles202
Then stfu and suck mine!
gravityyaoi
Hugh Hunter is just appalled at the industry but sure doesn’t mind perpetuating it by acting and taking the money.