LOS ANGELES — Following yesterday’s report that Choice Bank Ltd. has suspended withdrawals from deposit accounts, Paxum’s Ruth Blair has taken to XBIZ.net to detail the company’s position on this important development and how it may impact its industry clients. Paxum’s response is below: “Paxum Inc would like to address any concern our clients may feel after the recent news regarding Choice Bank Ltd. On April 9th 2018 Choice Bank informed its customers that it has been forced into a constrained position by the regulatory authorities. Paxum would like to reassure our customers that this is an issue between Choice Bank and its regulatory authorities directly, and it is completely unrelated to Paxum. Paxum is just a customer of Choice Bank. As a result of the news from Choice Bank we regret to inform you that Paxum cards can no longer be loaded via transfer to card. However it is important to note that any funds that currently exist on any Paxum card issued by Choice Bank are fully available and can be used as normal at the ATM and for POS purchases. We are grateful that only a small portion of Paxum users are affected by Choice Banks situation, as it only relates to the Paxum issued card. All other aspects of Paxum services are operating normally, and regular service is uninterrupted. We apologize for this inconvenience caused to Paxum card-holders by Choice Bank, and we are working hard to promptly implement our new card solution. As part of our commitment to providing a reliable payment service, and as a result of lengthy card issuing delays through Choice Bank over the last few months, Paxum had already been exploring alternative card issuing options and we have finalized a backup card. New cards are currently being printed. There will be no additional cost to the user for the new card, and we should have everything completed within 4 weeks. We will update clients as soon as the new cards have been shipped and implemented. In the beginning of March 2018 Choice Bank experienced problems loading funds to cards and at that time Paxum pro-actively introduced Instant Withdrawal to External Credit/Debit card as an additional instant withdrawal option. Many clients have tried this option, and we recommend it for any Paxum client seeking instant access to their account funds while a replacement Paxum card is being implemented. Please note, some restrictions do apply. Paxum payment solution has always been more than just a card, which is why problems that our card issuer Choice Bank is experiencing will not cause any long-term damage to Paxum's ability to provide consistent secure global payment services. Paxum offers multiple withdrawal options (Wire, EFT/ACH, External Credit/Debit Card, and Transfer to Other Accounts), instant payments worldwide, and we still offer instant withdrawal. Paxum cards will be back very soon, and we look forward to continuing to serve our clients payment needs in the meantime.”

BELIZE CITY, Belize — Choice Bank Ltd. told accountholders today that it has been forced into a “liquidity-constrained position” and has suspended all withdrawals from deposit accounts, as well as other outbound payment activities. Choice Bank, the card issuer for several adult payment solutions, said that as it progresses through its current position, “the bank is confident that all its depositors, cardholders and creditors will be kept whole.” “With a view to enable the bank to manage cash flows in an orderly fashion to work through the current liquidity situation, in the interest of depositors and other creditors as a whole, the bank has taken the decision in its view as a matter of necessity, with immediate effect, to temporarily suspend all withdrawals from deposit accounts with the bank and other outbound payment activities (save for payment of employees, suppliers essential for core operations, consultants and advisers) until the bank and/or its relevant regulatory authorities (as the case may be) are satisfied that such suspension is no longer required,” Choice Bank said. Choice Bank said the Belize City financial institution maintains a strong balance sheet with total equity including paid up capital and accumulated retained earnings in excess of $26 million, a most recent reported regulatory capital ratio of 26.92 percent and statutory liquidity ratio of 74.59 percent. Those ratios significantly exceed all statutory capital adequacy and liquid asset requirements, Choice Bank said. “The liquidity challenges the bank currently faces is truly a short-term one. As it progresses through this process, the bank is confident that all its depositors, cardholders and creditors will be kept whole,” Choice Bank said.

LOS ANGELES — XBIZ is pleased to announce the finalist nominees for the 2018 XBIZ Cam Awards, presented by MyFreeCams.com. The XBIZ Cam Awards, rocketing into its second year, shines a solar storm of spotlights on the best independent models, clip artists and broadcasters from around the world, who inspire a passionate fandom with their unique creativity, passion and dedication. As the crown jewel and climactic finale of XBIZ Miami, the XBIZ Cam Awards is a luxuriously sexy red-carpet affair that will streak like a flaming comet across the South Beach skyline, with hard-won trophies immortalizing the industry’s most-dazzling stars. This year, more than 500,000 pre-nominations flooded in from the global camming community for finalist voting, which kicks off today and runs all the way through May 31. To vote for the finalists, click here. The finalist nominees for the 2018 XBIZ Cam Awards are: Best Cam Model — Female (North America) Alexis Kline Asiri Stone Bonnie Bruise Brittany Benz Chronic Love Comfie Cozie Emily Bloom Harley Rose Lena Spanks Maya Bum Reya Sunshine Scout MFC Skyler Lo Vickie Jay Zoey Taylor Best Cam Model — Female (Latin America) Alexa Vault Anastaxia Lynn Angel Deemon Ashleye Roberts Eva Foxxxy Kaisy Prince Livia Choice Loolypop Jessy Marian Difiore Selena Bella Best Cam Model — Female (Europe) Ava Mistique Brunette Jessica Ella Silver Eva Devine Ezzy Hotty Teen Madelene Ray Melly Boo Quincy Yolandi Best Cam Model — Male Aamir Desire Brock Cooper Cheston Stone Damon Veins Dylan Green Garret XXX J Bunny Jaden Storm Jakub Stefano Johnny Hands Leo West Liam Jacobs Matt Spinicker Ricky Rodeo Theo Oaks Best Trans Cam Model Ashanti Aleyce Casey Kisses Christina Monroe Freya Siren Song Holly Hawkes Kimber Haven Kylie Maria Thippy69_Shemale TS Blondie NYC Valentina Mia Best Cam Duo 19Honeysuckle Asus 10 Bare Naked Mob Crew Blonde & Rob Rider Envy Love & Sam Teck Matt & Steve Megan Sky Haven & Mason Haven My Sweet Apple Ninja Starz Whaaaaaaaat Couple Best Cosplay Cam Model Adrenna Lyne Ari Dee Clara Cosmia Designer Missy Felicia Vox Hello Courtney Insyndra Ivy Wolf Kailey Ketchum Kawaii Girl Kit Kendal Kitty Quinn Lana Rain Veronica Chaos Veronica Rae Best Fetish Cam Model Allie Eve Knox Goddess Kristie Goddess Lilith Jessy Stars Kinky Candys Koneko Katana Lexi Luxe Mila Mayhem Terra Genesis Violet October Best Inked Cam Model Ahptik Alloy Ash Nectarchoke Call Me Bad Girl UK Catherine Tayler Eliza Bathory Elle At The Essex Harley Marie Lynsie Lee Sheena Rose Best BBW Cam Model Destiny Diaz ErikaXstacy Kristin Kervz Mischevous Kitty Miss Buxxxom Miss Ling Ling Ms Thang 69 Raquel Love Sarah Spencer Taylor HouseWifeSwag Best MILF Cam Model Athena Blaze Chellie DD Jenny Blighe Lacey Bender Lisa Daniels Melissa Dawson Scarlet Raven SureCakes Veronika Rose Zora Stone Best Cam Model Site BrianaLeeExtreme.com DollyFox.com ImaniSeduction.com KelleyCabbana.com LaurenFillsUp.com MelKush.com NaomiSanz.com OwynLoxley.com PearlsWorld.xxx TheRealVickyVixxx.com Best Cam Site — North America CAM4.com Cams.com Chaturbate.com Flirt4Free.com FreeWebcams.com MyFreeCams.com Streamate.com Best Cam Site — Europe BongaCams.com ImLive.com Jasmin.com StripChat.com Visit-X.com XCams.com XLoveCam.com Best Cam Site — Gay CAM4.com CamBoysLive.com Chaturbate.com Flirt4Free.com SuperMen.com Best Clip Artist — Female Candy Glitter Cat Candescent Emma Choice Goddess Venus Kitty Kat Luna Larkin Love Lydia Love Samantha Mack Vera Price Violet Doll Best Clip Artist — Male Eli Lincoln Foxy Ven Johnny Goodluck Johnny Stone Laz Fyre Leo Christensen Mr. Manish Sammy Martin Steve Rickz Wesley Woods Best Clip Artist — Trans Brandon (Onyx Luna) Coltz Chanel Santini Chelsea Marie Jessica Fappit Jessy Dubai Kelly Pierce Korra Del Rio Lady Harkness Raven Roxx Trixxy Von Tease Best Clip Artist — Duo AK Ginger Snaps Babygirl Claire & Vance Black Haighlee Dallas & Tyler Dallas Jessie Sage & PeeJ Sage Lindsey Love & Michael Scott Molly Stewart & Nikki Eliot My Perfect Harem Spunky & Mr. Spunks Tight Couple Tru Storie3z For event information, visit CamAwards.XBIZ.com and XBIZMiami.com.

Penthouse magazine will be publishing an exclusive 12-page nude layout featuring adult superstar Stormy Daniels. The pictorial, set for its May-June edition, will accompany an in-depth, six-page profile feature on Daniels, according to Mish Barber-Way, Penthouse magazine’s executive editor. “We shot five different sets in the pictorial,” Barber-Way told XBIZ. “I am not sure what will make the cut yet because our creative director is working through the images right now. It’s an exclusive nude layout shot by Keith Munyan. She looks absolutely amazing. “The profile feature is an intimate profile on Stormy Daniels,” she said. "It's an in-depth, humanizing piece that discusses her life. And, of course, there is discussion of President Trump." Check out Penthouse Magazine here.

LOS ANGELES — Adult star Nikki Benz has filed a new lawsuit against Brazzers, director Tony T and performer Ramon Nomar, alleging she sustained injuries at the hands of the defendants during a shoot. The new lawsuit was first reported today by TMZ. Benz acknowledged the lawsuit to XBIZ but referred questions about claims to her attorney. Brazzers at post time did not immediately respond for comment Benz first went public with allegations in December 2016 that described director Tony T violating her consent during the filming of a hardcore scene for Brazzers, which is owned by adult entertainment conglomerate MindGeek. With the new suit, TMZ said that “Nikki adds much more graphic detail about the alleged violence ... claiming she was hit so hard in the face, head and breasts she ended up bleeding. According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Nikki's mouth was gagged with her own underwear and water was poured down her throat causing her to choke." “After the scene, Nikki claims Tony threatened to withhold her salary if she didn't record an ‘exit interview’ in which she stated she would shoot with him again in the future,” TMZ said. “In the suit, she says she initially told them no way, and only changed her tune due to the threat.” The suit also names 5 Boroughs as a defendant, as well as 50 John Does. In a separate but related case, Benz is appealing a defamation suit waged by Tony T, whose suit was allowed to proceed against her last year. In that suit, Tony T is seeking punitive damages in a defamation suit over her claims of being injured during the shoot. Benz was alleged to have communicated her claims via Twitter. Last year, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Delilah Lyons found that Tony T met his burden in showing that he had a probability of prevailing in that lawsuit. But that suit is held up pending the appeal.

LOS ANGELES — The Free Speech Coalition issued a statement today on last week’s seizure of Backpage.com by federal authorities, saying that the platform's closure likely means that sex workers will be imperiled and that the federal government’s “War on Sex” work is just getting started. The FSC said the following: Last week’s seizure of Backpage is a disaster for the health and safety of consensual sex workers. The closure of a major advertising space, one where legitimate clients could be screened, means that thousands of sex workers across the country will be forced into increasingly dangerous workplaces, with fewer rights, fewer resources and fewer ways to protect themselves. The closure of Backpage shows that the federal government’s “War on Sex” work is just getting started. We were told for months that the government needed the expanded powers of SESTA/FOSTA specifically so they could pursue Backpage. It was never true. The law hasn’t been signed, let alone gone into effect. The Department of Justice was able to seize Backpage just fine without it. When SESTA/FOSTA does go into effect, the adult industry will face a DOJ with expanded powers, and an expanded mission. The DOJ never needed those powers for Backpage — but the powers will allow them to shut down other consensual sex work sites: cam sites, clips sites, porn sites, dating sites, and any site that provides resources for sex workers. Friday, we saw SWOP Sacramento, a direct services and advocacy organization by and for sex workers, suspend its operations. The legal risk of providing basic safeguards like condoms or legal rights pamphlets was too much for the organization to ask its volunteers to bear. These attacks, and these pullbacks, disproportionately affect those among us with the fewest resources or financial ballast, and the least amount of recourse — the poor, the LGBTQ, the gender non-conforming, and people of color. We cannot overemphasize the dire situation that faces sex workers locally and nationally, nor the risk to free expression that we face as an industry. The adult industry needs to stand together, to stand with its workers, and those who work in the sex industry more broadly. They have come for the most vulnerable among us today, but they will not stop there. Sex workers need your support now, and they need your voice. Do support sex worker organizations — like SWOP and ESPLERP and St. James Infirmary and Desiree Alliance, to name but a few — financially, but equally important, speak out publicly. On social media, at work, in conversation with family. Not everyone understands these issues as implicitly as we do. Not everyone knows that they know a sex worker. You do. Do not be silent. The lives of our workers, friends and families depend on it.

Girlsway has released its April 2018 Girl of the Month Scarlett Sage’s ‘Showcases’ scene. Sage wrote the soccer-themed title and personally cast co-stars Jenna Sativa and Tali Dova, who is making her official Girlsway Model debut, for two separate G/G scenes. Director Stills By Alan said, “Scarlett is an amazing presence [who] lights up the screen when she performs, and her chemistry with Jenna and Tali in each scene is electric. You won’t find Scarlett’s Girl of the Month Showcases scene anywhere else but Girlsway.com.” To view the full scene, go to Girlsway.com. Contact affiliate manager Derrick Gilbert via email.

WASHINGTON — The FBI today raided the office of President Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, seizing records related to several topics including payments to adult superstar Stormy Daniels. The New York Times said that federal prosecutors in New York obtained the search warrant after receiving a referral from White House special counsel Robert Mueller. Cohen recently said he paid $130,000 to Daniels. He also plays a key role in aspects of Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The FBI seized emails, tax documents and business records, including communications between Trump and Cohen, according to the Times. Cohen’s lawyer told the Times the search “completely inappropriate and unnecessary.” “Today the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York executed a series of search warrants and seized the privileged communications between my client, Michael Cohen, and his clients,” said Stephen Ryan, his lawyer. “I have been advised by federal prosecutors that the New York action is, in part, a referral by the Office of Special Counsel, Robert Mueller.” Meantime, Daniels attorney Michael Avenatti said he will announce a “sizable” reward for the identification of a person he said threatened his client to keep quiet about the alleged affair between Trump and Daniels. He plans releasing tomorrow a composite sketch of a man who allegedly threatened Daniels in a Las Vegas parking lot seven years ago. “We are very close to identifying this individual. … We need some assistance from the public,” Avenatti told CNN’s Alisyn Camerota, adding later, “I’m also confident that when we release the sketch tomorrow and when we offer the sizable reward, someone is going to come forward and it’s going to tighten the noose, if you will, on this issue.”

It turns out that pot isn’t the only vice that Maureen Dowd can’t handle. The writer, a mainstay of The New York Times op-ed section, ranted to The Irish Times yesterday about the driving role pornography supposedly plays in the sex lives — including non-consensual experiences — of young women. Dowd, who is herself neither a young woman nor has experienced modern life as one, somehow feels entitled to say that it’s some new and ubiquitous phenomenon that “women decide they’re not attracted to a guy they’re nestling with but they go ahead and have sex anyhow.” In “Porn culture is making sex bleak and transactional,” Dowd quotes Baby Boomer Joanna Coles, “former editrix of Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire,” on her similarly irrelevant opinions about millennial and Gen X sex lives. “Intimacy,” she says, “is not easy to create in a hook-up.” With this, Dowd establishes a 1950s-era definition of “intimacy,” which to her seems to mean only one thing — traditional, monogamous interaction meant to set off long-term relationships. The writer seems not to consider the evolving nature of intimacy and the widening acceptance of its different guises. Intimacy can exist for one night, one minute, one second — and it’s not something everyone even wants. There’s nothing wrong with that, obviously, and what Dowd seems not to recognize is that there’s no “wrong” reason for having consensual sex with someone you may not be wholly enamored with. It’s only ever someone’s personal decision who they sleep with, and the reason is theirs and theirs alone to legitimize. Like someone’s mind and not their face? Go ahead. Want to feel a temporary connection with another human being, even if it’s not for the long run? Sure. Just feeling like boning? By all means. Doing sex work? Do it! Dowd’s dowdiness just can’t keep up with the idea that younger folk just might be looking for something other than a Mrs. label. She and Cole say that at the crux of this loss of intimacy sits pornography, that its presence along with that of online dating makes “women interchangeable.” Cole suggests that “there’s a new sense in which young women feel that they are now in competition with porn, and if they don’t put out, it’s easy for the guy to go home, log into Pornhub and get what he needs there.” As if all women want so badly to be loved that they would pursue a man who doesn’t want them! It’s straight out of some bad mid-century melodrama with exactly that level of understanding of young women. Naturally, Dowd and her interviewee make the classic, embarrassing error of equating viewing pornography with actually having sex and moreover assume that it’s only men who are watching (heaven forbid Dowd go and look at data from Pornhub itself, which reports that women are watching more and more porn as of 2017). Naturally, Dowd doesn’t bother to interview sex workers or sex-positive women. To make matters worse, she decides to turn her attention to the #metoo movement, suggesting that it’s that exact pornography-induced lack of intimacy that leads to sexual assault. Ignoring the fact that sexual assault is an act of violence, not sex, she blames women for drinking too much and being unwilling to leave situations where they feel threatened or a lack of intimacy. She mentions abuse by Aziz Ansari, which was reported by an anonymous victim a few months ago. She flagrantly dismisses Ansari’s actions, mentioning that the woman who had given the account “was distressed by his arbitrary choice of white wine at dinner,” focusing on matters of oenology rather than the actual matter at hand: what followed dinner. “So you’d rather have bad sex with someone who doesn’t appeal to you than find a way to extricate yourself?” she asks, as if assault is simply “bad sex.” “You can Lean In but you can’t Walk Out?” It’s an absolutely heinous set of questions to ask of people who have experienced being in the grips of an assault, as anyone who has been there would know. Dowd also mentions Stormy Daniels, choosing selectively to quote Daniels’ internalized victim-blaming and translating what is clearly socially imposed self-doubt into a supposed legitimization of it having been “a bad decision [to go] to someone’s room alone.” For all of her supposed knowledge about intimacy and interpersonal relationships, Dowd seems not to be cognizant of the damage her cognitively dissonant, puritanically panicked opinions are doing to people who have been assaulted as well as sex workers just trying to do their jobs. Connecting pornography with assault, which Dowd indirectly does, has not even been proven. Despite the ever-present hysteria over adult entertainment, it’s actually been shown that there is a correlation between the arrival of the internet (and widespread pornography access) with what the Justice Department reports is a lowered rate of sexual assault. To top it off, as if all of this nonsense somehow isn’t enough, Coles goes off the rails and suggests that “20 percent of young women are on antidepressants” and that there “have to be ad campaigns about consent before sex” all because of porn. How could anyone possibly take her seriously after that? Dowd’s isn’t a casual opinion piece. In a time when laws are gearing up to lash out against sex workers, it’s an all-out assault.

LOS ANGELES — Evil Angel has announced the release of five new titles, for the week of April 16. Streeting on April 16 are Rocco Siffredi's "Hard Academy 3" and Aiden Starr's "Bisexual Fantasies." Then, releasing on April 18 are LeWood's "Two Girl Anal Threeway," starring Ivy Lebelle, Kendra Spade, Leigh Raven, Lily Lane, Lisey Sweet, Sophia Grace, Whitney Wright, Zoey Monroe and Mark Wood, as well as Lisa Ann's "Back 4 More." Then, on April 19, Evil Angel is releasing "MILFs Gone Wild 4-Pack," a compilation of MILF content from four directors — LeWood, Jonni Darkko, John Leslie and David Perry. For more information, visit EvilDistributor.com.

Mandy Muse is back at Evil Angel again. This time in LeWood's "Black Cock Anal Snowbunnies," which released today. Muse, who has shot about 30 scenes for Evil Angel, meets her match with Mandingo in the new title. “Mandy, wearing pink lace and black stockings, shows off her famous booty to Mandingo, giving him a taste of what's to come,” a studio publicist said. “It's not long before her lingerie comes off, and Mandy gets to work on Mandingo, giving him a blowjob before he enters the rest of her holes.” Muse, also featured in the recently released "Big Ass Rubdown" from Digital Sin, is represented by Society 15 and is available for B/G, G/G, B/B/G, B/G/G, IR, cream pie, anal and more. Directors and producers can get Muse on their set can contact Society 15 via their website. The Evil Angel title is also available for download and streaming to Evil Angel website members here.

Ela Darling — the 2018 XBIZ Crossover Star of the Year, head of CAM4VR and the first VR cam model — will be hosting a live, AMA-style Q&A at The Next Web. Darling will be open to all questions, but The Next Web has provided suggested topics of upcoming VR projects, #metoo in the adult industry, the popularity of VR porn and the presence of women in porn tech. The performer said, "The Next Web is a really excellent curation of interesting people and topics, so it's an honor to do a Q&A session with them. I also got the chance to guest host their weekly newsletter and showcase female adult industry voices I admire like Lorelei Lee's. I hope the Q&A session offers the TNW community some insight into the [intersection] of porn and VR." Darling will be taking and answering questions here.

The new title “Sophie Anderson Pushed To Her Limits,” directed by Angel Long, will air on Television X next Saturday, April 21. A BTS scene was released this past weekend, in which Anderson and co-star Lucia Love play with toys. Hardcore scenes will be available after airing at Television X.

LOS ANGELES — BangBros, one of the biggest brands in adult entertainment, announced a licensing management deal with NMG Management on Friday. With the announcement, BangBros titles will now be available for the first time via broadcast and DVD distribution channels throughout the world “We have never done anything in the broadcast space before, and after seeing the kinds of creative deals NMG has managed to make for friends of ours in this business, we saw the potential for plenty of new revenue from our content,” Jeff of BangBros.com said. “We already know exactly how effective our content is online, thanks to more than a decade of detailed stat-tracking, but broadcast arrangements are harder to quantify, so we were wary of jumping into that vertical without the right team backing our moves," he said. “Now with Megan and the NMG Management team on board, deals are all getting done quickly and we are already seeing results from new sources of revenue that we weren’t monetizing fully until now.” NMG plans to make the award-winning content part of a larger brand strategy with many new opportunities that build on the success of the content. Under the new management deal with NMG, Bang Bros DVDs will continue to be distributed via Girlfriends Films. “I think it’s fair to say that BangBros is a star-making brand that has proven itself time and again, capable of turning otherwise unknowns into household names among adult film fans. That level of marketing expertise is rare,” Jeff said. “And adding NMG Management to the mix is allowing BangBros to extend their reach into entire new revenue streams," he said. In the coming weeks, months and years I fully expect the BangBros name to become a dominant force in broadcast media much the same way it has become one of the most respected brands in adult online already.” To learn more about BangBros and discuss business opportunities with its adult content, visit NMGManagement.com.

LOS ANGELES — Stormy Daniels made the mistake of forgetting to force me to sign a nondisclosure agreement. Her lawyer has yet to pressure me to accept hush money. None of her crazed supporters have threatened me with violence to keep quiet. What follows is a true account of the strange events that transpired between Stormy Daniels and me on the afternoon of April 4. I was admittedly excited when Daniels’ people contacted my people to ask if I would meet her at a secret location just outside of Los Angeles. The last time I spent time with her was nearly three years ago when she invited me to another secluded compound. On that occasion she had sex with four women while I stood quietly in the corner, taking notes. Now she had transformed from one of the most popular adult stars into an infamous public figure known the world over. In truth, I am turned on by women in power, particularly when they know how to wield their clout as assertively as their sexual charisma. That, and I held out hope that Daniels would offer to cast me in her next film or give me a job as her feature dancing roadie, if only I entertained her perversions behind closed doors. Daniels was directing her first film for Digital Playground, “Highway Home,” after ending her more than 15-year collaboration with Wicked Pictures. I found her seated behind two TV screens that broadcasted live feeds from a bedroom just down the hall. In the tiny room, an audience of wide-eyed, stuffed animals waited for Xander Corvus and Kimber Woods to have sex. Stormy Daniels commands attention with a bullhorn while directing her first feature for Digital Playground, “Highway Home.” Much to my disappointment, Daniels had not been waiting for me naked, nor did she look like she’d be getting naked any time soon. She did, however, have her makeup done and her blonde hair was curled in perfect ringlets that spilled down her immense chest. So, I still held out hope that she would try to overpower me with her sexual supremacy. “What’s the bullhorn for?” I asked, motioning to a megaphone on the table. “That’s for when people get out of line,” she said. She glanced at me with a deadpan expression that attempted to mask the undercurrent of humor beneath most everything she said. “I missed that look from you Stormy,” Corvus said, his pierced lips lifting into a smirk. “That look of evil. I’m into it.” Daniels ordered Corvus to go to his room and start fucking Woods. “Yes, captain,” Corvus said. I stood over Daniels’ shoulder to watch the scene unfold through her eyes. Less than a minute passed before Woods stripped off Corvus’ pants. “Well that escalated quickly,” Daniels said. On many adult features, the action progresses slowly. The foreplay is extended to help create softcore versions of scenes that can be sold to more censored markets. Daniels no longer cared about catering to sensitive audiences. “Do you have to shoot a softcore version of the scene?” I asked. “Nope,” she said, leaning forward to study the action on the monitors. “It’s so nice.” Little slipped by Daniels. She noticed every perfection and imperfection. “You can see the bruise on Kimber’s leg,” she pointed out. Recognizing an opportunity for humor, she added. “That’s from when I beat her yesterday.” “Did she deserve it?” “They all deserve it,” she whispered. I tried not to ruin the scene by laughing too loudly. “Great shot,” she whispered. “Fuck, she has pretty eyes.” The shot widened to show Corvus’ hand wrapped around Woods’ neck. “Oh, he’s choking her,” she said. “That’s hot. It’s cute how she’s smiling too.” She said this was the first time she didn’t have to yell at the performers to go softer. Her new contract allowed her to shoot as raw and hardcore as she wanted. Daniels’ focus intensified with the scene. She looked like a commander at her battle station watching live drone footage of her Stormy Troopers executing her operation. Her hand methodically slid toward her bullhorn. She picked it up like a handgun and squeezed the trigger. “Cut,” she yelled. Daniels insisted that the entire crew take an extended break to eat a home cooked dinner — a rare luxury on adult sets. I commented on how much more relaxed of a director she now seemed. I was not the first person to notice this change. Admittedly, she was living through the most stressful period of her life. She was at the center of a media storm and had been threatened with a multimillion-dollar lawsuit by the most powerful man in the world. By contrast, shooting porn was now a vacation from the public spotlight. She could disappear for a few days and surround herself with people she liked and trusted. And yet, her peace was constantly threatened. Her phone delivered a stream of reminders of the chaos awaiting her. One of her four agents updated her about bookings, press requests and the latest crisis. The mockups for a new magazine cover just came in. Her lawyer called. A fellow performer even attempted to prank call her. He left a strange voicemail, but she was too experienced to fall for his childish trick. Not that she hated being the butt of a joke. It just had to be a good joke, or she’d just roll her eyes. She was even excited to see the pictures of people dressed as her for Halloween, complete with balloon boobs. In fact, she was so accustomed to public ridicule that she claimed to enjoy being called a cunt. Stormy Daniels in between scenes on the set of Digital Playground’s “Highway Home.” After dinner, it was back to business. Daniels ordered Dick Chibbles to strip down to a white undershirt and boxers. Then she sent the former pro-wrestler into the shoot room where he was to catch Corvus and Woods in each other’s arms. He looked the picture of the abusive, alcoholic stepfather I never had. Chibbles served as her muscle for tormenting Corvus. Earlier that day Daniels realized that as a contract performer for the parent company, MindGeek, Corvus was technically under her control. It was a power dynamic she planned to fully exploit. On Daniels’ command, Chibbles slung Corvus off the bed and into the wall. The contract stud was then assaulted with blows until he crumpled to the floor and was dragged away. “That was great!” Daniels yelled. “Let’s do it again.” Once all the fun of watching Corvus get beaten around the house lost its novelty, Daniels had Chibbles toss the contract performer onto the porch. “Now throw things at his face,” Daniels yelled. Chibbles grabbed a pile of clothes and hurled them at the cowering performer. Daniels unconsciously smiled while watching this display with the same blood-thirsty pleasure that some watch the violence of shark week. This was not the first time the director had hired Chibbles to beat people on camera. “She once had me suplex her in a film,” Chibbles told me between takes. It surprised me that Daniels would allow a man to toss her around, at least until Chibbles told me she finished the scene by smashing a glass vase over his head. Every crewmember was eager to sell their boss out with compromising stories about her questionable leadership style. Few had better stories than Daniels’ right hand man/work-husband, Jack Vegas. (He was even playing Daniels’ cuckolded husband in a scene the following day). Vegas spilled the beans about how Daniels made the talent audition for her epic western, “Wanted.” She had the cast strip naked and ride a stick pony around while she filmed them. Vegas understood the method of her madness. She only wanted people involved in her passion project who were just as dedicated, and deranged, as her. She wanted a cast that was so committed to her vision that they would degrade themselves for her amusement. Daniels rewarded this dedication. In contrast to a few top directors who used their padded budgets to expense designer watches or cars that they showed off on social media, Daniels used her recent spike in funding to overpay her multitude of crewmembers. She even ordered her entire team matching jackets. This was the side of Daniels that few people outside her inner circle saw. She stuck by those who stuck by her. In fact, her crew was almost identical to the team I met on her set three years before. Daniels has been called many things, but loyal is the one descriptor that is both the most accurate, and least used. The day concluded with the final scene of the film. The crew held their silence as Woods cried on command for the cameras. Looming over the scene like a thundercloud, Daniels placed the bullhorn to her lips. Her stern expression suggested she’d yell something mean, something like, “You’re all fired!” The crew froze in anticipation of her command. “That’s a wrap,” she yelled. “You guys are amazing!” Daniels obviously enjoyed the power and prestige that came with both her hard-earned appearance and her position. She had created a modest empire from meager means. She was no billionaire, but she was also not a bully who built her success on the backs of others. Nor was she someone who fired her employees weekly to maximize her profits or to provide a scapegoat for her mistakes. Before I left, I cornered Daniels to give her a final chance to seduce me, to entice me with empty promises of a job as her feature dancing roadie, or to ask if I would get naked and gallop about the yard on a hobby horse. “Are you going to write nice things about me?” she asked, masking her sarcasm with an evil smirk. "That all depends?” I said, trying to bait her into making a deal. She just stared at me, too savvy to fall for anyone’s attempts to put her in a compromising position. She did not hit me with threats. Nor did she offer me hush money. She just gave me a hug, asked if I got enough to eat, and thanked me for coming. To get back at Daniels for all of these offenses, I decided to sell this story of our time together to advance my floundering writing career at her expense. I’m sure I’ll be called a liar and she’ll deny every word. Her lawyer may come after me with threats, or if I’m lucky, an offer.

Porn starlet Ember Snow’s latest scene for Team Skeet is "Perky and Petite Oriental Treat." Released on Thursday, the title also stars Mike Mancini. Snow commented on her return to Team Skeet: "Some of my fans are shocked to know that I’m only four-foot-eleven. This is one of the scenes that really emphasizes how tiny I am next to someone like Mike and how much fun you can have with such a tiny girl.” Also out this week is "Asian Connection 2" from Wicked Pictures, in which Snow features opposite Jay Smooth. Snow also has additional releases forthcoming from 3rd Degree, Juicy Entertainment and Wicked Pictures. She is represented by Society 15. Follow her on Twitter.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — This week, federal judges for the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered a district court judge to address a controversial South Dakotan law banning pornography in prisons. The restrictive policy, which was established in 2014 and last updated in May 2017, prohibits any material featuring nudity or sexual content. This broadly encompasses any “pictorial or other graphic depiction where male or female genitalia, pubic area, buttocks or female breasts are exposed.” The rule is so ill defined that it covers both actual pornography as well as novels and nude works of classical art. The Argus Leader reported that “several Renaissance pictures of works of Michelangelo[‘s]” were confiscated along with manga and the novels “Thornes of Desire” and “Pride and Prejudice: The Wild and Wanton Edition.” Under this rule, inmates found with such material are subject to “disciplinary action.” The ban even covers outgoing letters, a point of contention for Charles Sisney, the inmate bringing the case to court and whose books and art were confiscated. Sisney’s lawyers said that the restriction on mail violates his First Amendment rights. Gizmodo reported that constitutional scholar Steven Morrison, who argued some of the case in court, told The Daily Republic, “Prisoners do not give up their First Amendment rights. If a prison can show that restricting material protected by the First Amendment is related to a penological interest such as security or safety, the courts tend to give wide discretion to prisons, as they should. But there’s no evidence of that in this case. It is literally unprecedented. The policy prohibits an entire class of speech, sexually explicit content, and goes beyond that. There are no exceptions.” Sisney began the fight soon after the rule was established and eventually won support from the ACLU of South Dakota and the National Coalition Against Censorship. He appealed a 2016 ruling by the district court even though it largely landed in his favor; it has since been vacated due to being based on an older, less restrictive policy made in 2000 and not the 2014 version. For now, Sisney must wait for the decision to be made — without his books and without his art.

Lesbian adult film studio Girlfriends Films has announced the release of its new feature, “Lesbian Seductions Older/Younger 62.” The title stars cover models Lauren Phillips, Milana May, Giselle Palmer and Dana DeArmond, along with returning Girlfriends Films performer Lena Paul. May tweeted, “Girls, you are simply stunning. [Having] a great time with you, I hope to see you soon. P.S.: Love your boobs.” Lesbian Seductions 62 is currently available for DVD purchase on the Girlfriends Films website and in stores. Find BTS images here.

LOS ANGELES — Pornhub plans on launching a new video-selling platform for performers seeking additional ways to sell their content. The platform, set to go live in about two months, will allow talent to price videos from $1 to $150 per download, yielding 65- to 80-percent payouts. “Now you can sell your videos to our billions of visitors all from the same platform you’re used to,” Pornhub said. “You don’t need a new account or any special info. You don’t need to code your own profile. “All you need to do is set the Privacy Settings to ‘For Sale’ when you upload your next video. It’ll automatically go up for sale once the new platform is live and users can start purchasing your exclusive videos.” Pornhub plans on 85-percent payouts for the first three months after launch and 65-percent payouts after three months. “We fully cover chargebacks, so there are no surprise fees,” Pornhub said. Content providers can change videos from “For Sale” to free at any time and still earn ad revenue through Pornhub's viewshare revenue plan, which pays out a monthly rate per 1,000 views. For those choosing to sell videos, Pornhub said that the rules for selling videos are a bit stricter. It has created a list of terms that cannot be employed or described in videos. Check out how Pornhub’s new program works here.

MILF Richelle Ryan will be appearing and performing at The Pony in Memphis April 12-14. “I’m so excited to be hitting the road again and heading south to turn on the city of Memphis at The Pony next weekend,” Ryan said. “Spring is in the air, and I’m feeling frisky so come on down and party with me, Tennessee!” Ryan will be available for autographs, photos and lap dances. She will be selling select merchandise. The Pony is located at 3918 Winchester Rd., Memphis. The adult performer also graces the cover of her latest DVD release, Zero Tolerance’s “Busty Nurses Go Black.” “I loved getting dressed up in my naughty nurse outfit. It really got me into the part and as my fans know very well, nobody loves doing IR more than me,” Ryan said. “'Busty Nurses Go Black' is a keeper!” Directed by Mike Quasar, "Busty Nurses Go Black" also stars Sean Michaels, Nat Turnher, Mia Lelani, Krissy Lynn, Isiah Maxwell and Nina Elle.

Raven-haired adult performer Jenevieve Hexxx graces the April cover of Xtreme Magazine. Hexxx is dressed in a latex corset and fishnet tights on the cover, revealing her tattoos. Inside the magazine is an interview with and photo spread of the performer. “I love all the photos and I’m sure my fans will learn a lot about my life off-set from my interview,” Hexxx said. “You can get the mag for free at gentlemen’s clubs and online, but I’ll also be selling signing copies at my upcoming trade shows this year.” Find Xtreme at gentlemen’s clubs in the Mid-Atlantic States including NY, NJ, DC and PA. It’s also available online in a digital format here.

Avi Love stars with Mick Blue in “Anally Corrupted 2” for BAM Visions. “I absolutely adore Mick Blue and working with him is a dream,” Love said. “This scene was a knockout and I think it’s one fans will treasure for years to come, just like I will. It’s me at my anal-loving best!” The Maestro Claudio-directed title also stars Leigh Raven, Angel Del Rey and Monica Sage. Watch the trailer and purchase “Anally Corrupted 2” here.

Analized.com has released the second installment in the “Crazy Ass Sluts” series. “Crazy Ass Sluts 2” is now available through Girlfriends Films. Chloe Cherry, Cherry Kiss and Alex Harper star in the title as well as Daphne Klyde and Kristy Black, who perform a threesome. Send purchase inquiries via email. Analyzed.com is available for promotion through the JamesDeenCash.com network.

LOS ANGELES — Adult star Prince Yahshua has teamed up with James Deen to launch OnlyPrince.com. “OnlyPrince.com celebrates Yahshua and his unique style and one-of-a-kind abilities,” said a rep. “From bedding the world’s top pornstars to directing high-quality content, Prince Yahshua always reinvents the game and does so with his own personal spin. The launch of OnlyPrince.com is only the first step in giving the internet a single location to access all that is Prince Yahshua.” OnlyPrince.com is a part of the James Deen Cash affiliate program. Yahshua said, “James Deen and I have known each other for well over ten years. Our loyalty and respect for each other has only grown, so to get the call from him about giving all our fans and the world a mega-site called OnlyPrince.com was a blessing that I jumped on. "This site gives you the best of both worlds, the passion and fire from my work as well as the hands-down hardcore work I do with him. I can't lie, I haven't been this excited over something in a long time. Bottom line, the future is now and its name is OnlyPrince.com.” Deen commented, “From the first time I featured Prince on one of my sites the audience immediately made it clear that they wanted more. Since then we have been collaborating in every way possible. It is an honor to partner with him and include OnlyPrince.com in the JamesDeenCash.com affiliate program.” Check out the new site here.

Anna Bell Peaks is recovering from medical issues and will return to feature dancing next week at Gossip in Long Island. She plans to begin shooting scenes and camming again as well. “My fans were so supportive when I was in the hospital — I even received flowers, a giant bunny rabbit stuffed animal and monetary support from the best fans on the internet,” Peaks said. “I felt so cared for and knew everyone was hoping and waiting for my speedy recovery. Thank you so much for the support and outpouring of get well soon wishes!” Peaks has received two Spank Bank nominations: Royal Majesty of the Stripper Pole and Tattooed Temptress of the Year. “Feature dancing and tattoos are definitely two of the things I’m most famous for, so these are some pretty solid nominations,” Peaks said. “I appreciate Gabriel Lan thinking of me and I’ll keep my fingers crossed — except when I’m working the pole!”