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Huge Surge In Performer Signups For Online Sex Sites During COVID-19

Adult performer Max Konnor at home (image via Instagram)
As the coronavirus pandemic marches on, and folks continue to shelter at home, people are exploring new ways to make money to pay their bills. The Labor Department recently reported that some 16 million people in the U.S. have applied for unemployment benefits, so it will come as no surprise that numbers in the online sex industry are rising at a quick pace. Daryn Parker, the Vice President of CamSoda, a webcam site that streams live online broadcasts, told the New York Times he saw a 37 percent increase in new model sign-ups in March compared to the same period in 2019. A similar “camming” site, ManyVids, shared their new model sign-ups had increased 69 percent. Performers on the sites, sometimes called “cam models,” can offer to strip or dance on camera as viewers send them messages. The cam models earn tips for their efforts. CamSoda shares the number of new viewers to the site has doubled compared to last spring. You’d think that would mean bank for these online sex workers, but it’s not working out that way. Mileena Kane, a cam model on CamSoda, told the Times that she’s noticed the influx of new viewers but it seems the new crop of viewers isn’t tipping very well. “I’m meeting a whole bunch of people more frequently than I normally would, but there’s not much more money,” said Ms. Kane. It would seem more and more people are watching (and making) sexual online performances but fewer are paying. The increasingly popular OnlyFans site recently shared that there were 3.5 million new signups in March and 60,000 of those were new content creators.

“As far as sex workers go and cammers go, we are pushing ourselves a little bit harder to make sure that we can entertain people from their homes and encourage people to stay inside their homes,” said popular gay adult performer Max Konnor. Konnor adds that he’s glad he only commits to two-hour “shows.” Other performers interviewed by the Times say they often work 12-hour days, but with the influx of new performers that doesn’t always mean making more money. Additionally, the webcam sites take hefty splits of the income for hosting the content, some of them as high as 50 percent. One performer shared that, in a single day, sometimes they make $30 and other days it can be as much as $300. Even for folks not looking to pay to view sex online there’s been a huge increase in viewers. Adult entertainment giant Pornhub reported on April 3 “worldwide traffic to Pornhub has been much higher than it was before the Coronavirus pandemic spread worldwide” adding that the “peak increase of 24.4% happened on March 25th” after the site offered free Premium service in many countries.

(source: New York Times)

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Campaign Ad: “Distracted”

A pretty devastating new ad from The Lincoln Project: “Trump says his own impeachment “distracted” him from the #Coronavirus response. Let’s be clear: He was never distracted. He just didn’t care.”

 

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Special Episode Of Netflix’s “Tiger King” To Air Easter Sunday

Joe Exotic and friend (image via Netflix)
Netflix has announced a new episode its wildly popular seven-episode docu-series, Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness. Joel McHale will host the postscript episode which is titled, “The Tiger King and I,” to be released on April 12. Deadline Hollywood reports the new installment will “feature brand-new interviews with Tiger King‘s John Reinke, Joshua Dial, John Finlay, Saff, Erik Cowie, Rick Kirkham, and Jeff and Lauren Lowe, who will talk about their experiences since last month’s release of the docuseries.” “It’s eye-opening and hopefully funny,” McHale said in announcing the followup. The show has become a pop culture phenomenon since its premiere on March 20, perhaps in part due to many folks staying home thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. In case you haven’t been following the unbelievable popularity of the docu-series, check out the mini-feature below that chronicles how and why the Netflix series came to be. McHale posted this quick video clip to the Netflix Twitter account announcing the additional episode.

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VH1 Announces “RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race”

Via Variety:

VH1 and World of Wonder Productions are providing you with an extension of the “RuPaul’s Drag Race” franchise in “RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race,” a new event series set to launch April 24 at 9:30 pm.

Each episode in the four-part event series will feature a trio of celebrities opening up their hearts and minds to the transformative power of drag.

After getting some help from beloved past contestants — deemed “Queen Supremes” — Alyssa Edwards, Asia O’Hara, Bob the Drag Queen, Kim Chi, Monét X Change, Monique Heart, Nina West, Trinity the Tuck, Trixie Mattel and Vanessa Vanjie Mateo, the celebrity contestants will compete in fan-favorite challenges and step onto the runway in their new looks.

At the end of each episode, one of that week’s three celebrity contestants will win the title of “America’s Next Celebrity Drag Race Superstar” and prize money for a charity of their choice.

The new “Celebrity Drag Race” limited series will follow new episodes of Season 12 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” which air Fridays at 8 p.m. on VH1.

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TikTok: Gay Quarantine Experience Captured In 10-Seconds

(screen captures)
This 10-second TikTok pretty much encapsulates the gay quarantine experience. From baking, cleaning, gardening, grooming, decorating and working out, this touches on just about everything that’s been happening here at basecamp Randy Report. Find more of Darren & Michael on TikTok here.

@darrenandmichaelWeekend plans? ##gay ##gaycouple ##lgbt ♬ original sound – harrisontrains

(h/t Pink News)

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News Round-Up: April 9, 2020

Mitch Fit (image via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Woofy ginger Mitch Fit (above) is catching up on his reading during COVID-19 quarantining. I just finished an autobiography by an America’s Got Talent alum for an interview soon to come. Who else is reading to pass the time these days? And what? Share in the comments section. • KIT212: Leftover fabric from the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt is now being used to make coronavirus masks. • Deadline: ABC’s hit sitcom Modern Family may have ended its 11 season run last night, but a “Cam & Mitchell” spinoff could happen… • NowThis News: Donald Trump called mail-in voting ‘corrupt’ moments before confirming that he himself voted by mail this year. Democrats have pushed for funding for expanded vote-by-mail elections as part of debates on COVID-19 stimulus bills. Trump told Fox News vote-by-mail would endanger GOP election chances.

Salon: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday quietly removed bizarre guidelines for using the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment for the new coronavirus. The unproven treatment has been repeatedly hyped by President Donald Trump in spite of the warnings of Dr. Anthony Fauci. • Daily Kos: The former acting Navy secretary’s round-trip flight to Guam to tell the crew of the USS Roosevelt why their commander, Capt. Brett Crozier, was fired after he penned a letter to higher-ups pleading for help with COVID-19 infections on his ship, cost American taxpayers more than $243,000. • Power99: A Mississippi barber has died from the coronavirus after his family says he continued to cut customers’ hair during the pandemic. Eugene Thompson tested positive on March 22 and felt symptoms as early as March 17. However, it appeared that he was still accepting clients at his shop as well around that time, social media posts show. • InstaHunks 2: Singer/songwriter Justin Utley – who I recently interviewed for his terrific new single and music video “American Nightmare” – is looking super-jacked these days. Dang…

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Poll: 57% Of Conservative News Viewers Believe COVID-19 “Less Deadly” Than Flu

Donald Trump
New polling from Gallup shows folks who get their news from Donald Trump’s favorite “state TV” network, Fox News, might be less informed than those who get their news elsewhere. Via Mediaite:

People who consume news sources like Fox News are more than twice as likely to be uninformed about the coronavirus as those who take in sources like CNN and MSNBC, according to a stunning new survey conducted by Gallup.

The Knight Foundation/Gallup poll published Thursday broke down results by “news diet,” which in the case of a “conservative news diet” meant “those who cite only conservative news sources (e.g., Fox News, Breitbart, One America News, the National Review) as top sources.”

But on a key matter of fact regarding the Covid-19 disease, the results were devastating. A full 57 percent of the conservative news consumers falsely believe that the coronavirus is “less deadly than or as deadly as flu,” versus only 28 percent of those with a “liberal news diet” believing the same statement.

Is anyone surprised? Show of hands, please. No one? I didn’t think so.

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COVID-19 Now The Leading Cause Of Death In U.S.

Donald Trump during White House press conference (public domain)
Newsweek reports that COVID-19, once dubbed a “Democratic hoax” by Donald Trump, is now the leading cause of death in the U.S.

According to a graph published Tuesday by Dr. Maria Danilychev, who practices in San Diego, COVID-19 is the cause of 1,970 deaths in the U.S. per day.

Just last week, COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death, averaging around 748 deaths per day, but as the virus has continued to spread, the increase in daily deaths have followed.

In comparison to COVID-19 fatalities, 1,774 deaths are attributed to heart disease and 1,641 to cancer.

Thanks to social distancing, projections regarding anticipated deaths in the U.S. have recently been adjusted downward to 60,415  in a model produced by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in Seattle (IHME). Initial projections from the White House Coronavirus Task Force were between 100,000 and 240,000 U.S. deaths. But, it’s important to remember all of these projections – and the actual number of deaths – will remain fluid depending in great part on the behavior of the American people over the next few months.

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Musical Goodness: Disney Stars Perform Stunning Virtual “Go The Distance”

Please stop and enjoy the musical goodness… From Good Morning America, nine current and former Disney on Broadway cast members virtually perform Alan Menken’s “Go the Distance” to honor food bank workers, volunteers and struggling families on ABC’s “Day of Hope.”

The coronavirus pandemic has infected more than 400,000 people and killed at least 13,000 in the United States so far.

Another serious consequence of the outbreak: food insecurity.

With sky-rocketing unemployment and millions of children unable to receive free or reduced-price school lunches, more people are now facing hunger because of this crisis, according to Feeding America, the largest hunger-relief organization in the U.S.

Due to this crisis, ABC is launching Day of Hope, in partnership with Feeding America, to highlight food banks and food pantry personnel working on the front lines, and to share food resources with all Americans who need it.

Feeding America officials report they are seeing a massive increase in demand. Approximately 37 million people are food insecure, including 11 million children and 5.5 million seniors.

Learn more about Feeding America’s work and get involved at FeedingAmerica.org/FeedTheLove. They are all exquisite talents, but I do love me some Heather Headley…

(h/t to Larry at TheOUTfront.com)

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6.6 Million New Applications For Unemployment This Week

  From NBC News:

Another wave of 6.6 million American workers filed first-time unemployment claims for the week ending April 4, bringing the cumulative total to an astonishing 16 million over the past three weeks.

For the week ending March 21, 3.3 million people filed new unemployment claims, easily shattering the previous record set in 1982 of 695,000.

Last week, that astounding figure doubled, as 6.6 million people filed claims for the week ending March 28 — a figure that was revised upward to 6.9 million in the new release.

Mark Zandi, a chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, predicts unemployment could reach as high as 15 percent later this spring.