Philipp Tanzer, who performed in gay porn as Logan McCree, is planning a run for Scottish parliament in May’s Holyrood election.
Tanzer, whose previous porn catalogue includes films like Rear Deliveries and Hotter Than Hell 2, raised eyebrows a bit when he announced his plans to stand for the anti-LGBTQ Scottish Family Party.
Saying he now identifies as ‘ex-gay, the 43-year-old says the political party, which opposes any LGBTQ-inclusive education, “best represent my views on life and society.”
According to the SFP’s website, LGBTQ-inclusive education “mandates the indoctrination of schoolchildren into a radical ideology of sexuality.” The group also opposes ‘transgender ideology’ saying it confuses young people.
Tanzer has declared his candidacy for the Highlands and Islands after moving to Durness, Sutherland, in 2012.
Philipp Tanzer today (screen capture via BBC)
In an interview with The Times, Tanzer says that since leaving adult entertainment he’s worked as a hairdresser, a massage therapist, and a fireman. He also shares that he’s currently in a relationship with a woman and considering “marriage and starting a family.”
The self-described ‘men’s rights activist’ also called out the porn industry saying, “In one year I lost five friends in the industry to suicide and drug overdoses. I have seen the harm porn addiction can do.”
He makes a point to say that porn is not just an issue for men.
“Both boys and girls consume pornography and both suffer under its impact,” said Tanzer.
Seeming to brush aside responsibility for his adult entertainment career, today he shares, “I was pushed into identifying myself as something at the age of 32 that I was not.”
Adult performer Quin Quire (images via screen capture)
Porn performer Quin Quire (nope, never heard of him) raised eyebrows on Sunday when he tweeted his opinion that “Covid 19 isn’t deadly enough.”
Quire’s tweet read, “Covid 19 isn’t deadly enough in my opinion. It’s good to kill off the weak from a population to ensure the BEST survival for the group. If it kills me it’s my time but I’m tired of letting the weakest people tell us how to live our lives. F**k you.”
A few minutes later, he followed that up with, “Meditate on, and accept the idea of your own death. Your life will be better for it. Happy #DayoftheDead.”
For those who don’t know, Day of the Dead (Dia de Muertos) is a Mexican holiday recognized on November 1 and encourages remembering friends and family who have died. How Quire conflated remembering those who have passed with giving a thumbs up to the coronavirus isn’t clear.
It’s notable that Quire limited replies to the original tweet to people he mentioned in the tweet. Of course, he didn’t mention anyone in particular in the message.
The Twitterverse wasn’t sure if Quire, who refers to himself as an “adult film star since ’12,” might have been hacked, was serious in his messaging, maybe having a bad reaction to medications, simply cold-hearted, or just looking for attention.
Gay porn performer Billy Santoro gets canceled over racist comments (screen capture)
Gay porn performer Billy Santoro showed his fans exactly who he is on Monday night when he took to Facebook to encourage American police officers to shoot ‘black looters.’
Santoro’s post on his since-deleted Facebook page read, “Lol. America! Lol you let your blacks loot as a way of protest. Wake the fuck up. Shoot first.”
#Hideous
JustForFans.com, the adult entertainment subscription site where Santoro makes a living, summarily kicked Santoro off the platform announcing via Twitter:
“And here we had a good day so I put my phone away to actually take a night off. And then I checked the phone to see all the messages. His account is gone. Policing is a slippery slope and we won’t be puppets to cancel culture. This was not debatable though. It was vile. BLM.”
The site had already announced the addition of Black Lives Matter to its Charitable Giving Program.
And here we had a good day so I put my phone away to actually take a night off. And then I checked the phone to see all the messages. His account is gone. Policing is a slippery slope and we won’t be puppets to cancel culture. This was not debatable though. It was vile. BLM.
JustForFans stands fully behind Black Lives Matter, our models of color, and our entire user base, in wishing this cycle of violence against people of color would end. pic.twitter.com/klTr4373ok
Suffering a serious backlash, Billy took to Twitter to explain he had lost a friend during ‘the looting in philly’ and had ‘lashed out’ due to stress.
“A friend of mine was killed during the looting in philly and I lashed out full of emotional stress,” wrote Santoro. “Those who know me know I am not racist. I am hurt by the loss of my friend.”
That was quickly followed by a tweet ‘sincerely’ apologizing and noting the many people of color he has ‘fallen in love with.’
“I sincerely apologize for hurting the POC with my statement. I have fallen in love with many poc and understand the frustration.”
But this wasn’t Santoro’s first racist comment. In fact, it wasn’t even the first racist comment of the day.
The folks at Cocktails and Cocktalk screen captured a Twitter exchange where Santoro chimed in on a Wisconsin restaurant’s comment writing, “Or the blacks will just breed more hatred towards them.”
Y’all it’s time to cancel this fool . Billy Santoro is straight up racist and called for the deaths of Fellow People of Color. If you are a person of color and consider yourself of fan of his , you need to reconsider and unfollow immediately.
The latest chapter in this sad tale comes as Gage tweeted (then-deleted) a plea to stop the attacks on Billy saying he’d attempted suicide ‘based on the hate he has received.’
For more than 35 years, the Circus of Books bookstore was a place where Los Angeles LGBTQ people could socialize and celebrate themselves without judgment.
Not just ‘a book store,’ the retail venue was a gay porn emporium run by a straight, mainstream Jewish couple – Barry and Karen Mason – whose three children attended religious schools and were unaware for a long time about the nature of their parents’ business.
Executive produced by Ryan Murphy for Netflix, Circus of Books is now a new documentary set to drop on April 22. The project is the debut film from Rachel Mason, one of the children of the owners.
In the newly-released trailer, which alternates between interview soundbites and clips from vintage gay porn, one of the Mason children shares, “We were just kept completely in the dark.”
“If anyone asked what our parents did, the official answer was ‘We own a book store,’” added another.
“In the 1980s, we were probably the biggest distributors of hard-core gay films in the United States, but I never felt free to let anybody know what we did,” says Karen in the trailer.
(screen capture)
The conflict was due to the family’s attendance at a “stuffy, conservative synagogue” and having a business that sold gay porn and sex paraphernalia to the LGBTQ community.
According to press materials, the Masons didn’t set out to be gay activists, just “everyday entrepreneurs.”
But then came the AIDS crisis and the Masons found they were losing employees to the epidemic. Phoning the parents of those employees, they realized how marginalized so many LGBTQ people were as many responded to the news with “I never want to see them again.”
And so, the Masons became accidental activists recognizing the humanity in their customers.
One former patron shares to the camera, “Circus of Books was my first glimpse into the fact that I wasn’t alone as a gay person.”
Another: “This book store, it kept me out of harm’s way.”
“I think what we did was small, human kindnesses in a very small way,” says Karen Mason in an interview clip.
Check out the trailer below, and mark your calendar for the April 22 release of Circus of Books on Netflix.
• InstaHunks: Woofy Jeff Ferreira (above), standing in Times Square, “Kiss me, use me! Today I will be all yours!” #HoldMyBeer You can follow Jeff on Instagram here.
• MetroWeekly: A pastor and right-wing broadcaster who was recently granted press credentials by the White House has claimed that the coronavirus was sent by God to “purge” LGBTQ people.
• Advocate: Thanks to public outcry by queer Los Angelenos, the L.A. LGBT Center will not be losing its funding to offer free tests for HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia. On Monday, the center was informed its resources were scheduled to be cut – but queens will rise up.
• Super Bowl: Rupaul’s Drag Race alums Kim Chi and Miz Cracker are featured in a new commercial for Sabra hummus scheduled for the big game on February 2.
• Instinct Magazine: Porn star Armond Rizzo took to his social media after being approached by an adult studio that reportedly pays performers in the bottom bunk less than their co-stars. Armond was not having it: “It’s just unjust you pay bottoms less, and for that I decline working for you!”
• Washington Blade: The Virginia House of Delegates on Tuesday voted 63-34 to repeal the state’s statutory same-sex marriage ban. House Bill 1490, introduced by state Del. Nancy Guy (D-Virginia Beach), would officially repeal Virginia’s prohibition the U.S. Supreme Court deemed unconstitutional in its 2015 ruling in the Obergefell case.
• LA Times: Sen. Bernie Sanders has taken a significant lead – 6 points over Sen. Elizabeth Warren in number two spot – in the Democratic primary race in California. Under state Democratic Party’s rules, delegates go to candidates who get at least 15% of the vote statewide or in a congressional district.
The 2020 GayVN Awards were held Monday night at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and it was quite the gay affair.
Performers, directors, producers, and fans of adult entertainment came out to celebrate and hand out trophies at the event that’s been called “the Oscars of Gay Porn.”
I’ve never attended an awards show for adult entertainment, so I was super curious as to how this would all go down (no pun intended).
One thing I did learn – when picking up your credentials, don’t stand in the background while Cutler X is taking a photo because he will yell at you for “photo-bombing.”
Now, the awards show did begin an hour late (is that called being on ‘gay time?’), but what followed was an impressive and well-produced event by ManyVids.
Alec Mapa returned to hosting duties this year alongside new co-host comedienne/TV host Nicole Byer. Plus, there was musical entertainment by King Princess and a special performance by Alyssa Edwards.
GayVN Awards co-hosts Nicole Byer & Alec Mapa
At the event, Dallas Steele (nominated for Best Group Sex Scene and Favorite Daddy) told me he feels the event helps to de-stigmatize the industry.
“You look around at all these beautiful, well-dressed people,” said Steele. “If my mom were still around I’d be proud to have her here. I think it’s incredibly positive about our industry.”
Brian Davilla (nominated for Favorite Bear, also directed nominees in Best All Sex movie and Best Group scene) said his favorite aspect of the night was the sense of family among a group of people he warmly termed a ‘weird fraternity.’
“I’ve developed lifelong friendships that really transcend the work,” shared the woofy Davilla.
Some history was made and a barrier broken as DeAngelo Jackson became the first Black performer to take home the trophy for Best Actor for his work in Blended Family:
Check out some of the attendees on the red carpet:
‘Best Actor’ winner DeAngelo JacksonL-R ‘Favorite Bear’ nominee Brian Davilla & John Hickey‘Best Group Scene’ & ‘Favorite Daddy’ nominee Dallas SteeleL-R Nic Sahara, Andrew Christian, Nick Masc
I also got to meet the oh-so-handsome Matthew Camp, who was nominated for Best Actor for his performance in Camp Chaos.
A year ago, I interviewed Camp about the then-upcoming project and I am happy to report Camp is even more impressive in person as he was warm, thoughtful and charming in our short conversation.
Meeting Matthew Camp (Best Actor nominee for ‘Camp Chaos’)
Here’s the interview with Camp in case you missed it:
Markus Kage sat down with YouTube vlogger Davey Davey to share 5 things he learned doing gay-for-pay adult films.
Kage was pretty forthcoming about what take-aways he had as a straight-identifying man doing gay-for-pay scenes:
• First was learning to have better control over fears he might experience. So now, when he tries something new, he doesn’t freak out in the moment. Kage says instead of leaning into scary-territory, he asks himself what it is that might make him uncomfortable. That way he can process the thoughts and move ahead with having fun.
• “Versatility is key when it comes to sex,” says the adult performer. And by that, he means he’s learned to unwind his old mindset needing to be a dominant alpha-male all the time.
L-R Davey Wavey, Markus Kage
• That led to a discussion about whether tops or bottoms work harder when it comes to sex. Kage initially believed being on the bottom bunk was easier. But when it comes to getting ready to shoot a scene that might go on for hours, he acknowledged there’s definitely more ‘prep work’ involved for the receptive partner.
• When he’s ‘in the moment’ of having sex, Kage looks for that ‘something’ about his partners that turns him on and makes the experience better. He also notes that being textbook ‘hot’ doesn’t always equate into being a great sex partner.
• Leaning into the intimate aspect of sex, being more connected with his partners has not only made the act of sex better but helped him grow into being a better person.
I know the gay-for-pay thing can rub some folks the wrong way (bisexual, whatever…), but Kage has a charming way about him in the short video. And I won’t deny he’s pretty easy on the eyes. Plus, he clearly put some thought into what he’s saying here.
Hit the play button below (language NSFW) and you’ll see what I mean.
There’s a bit more of where that scene led here (NSFW) that doesn’t get too down and dirty.
It won’t surprise you that Sullivan’s Twitter account has since been deleted.
All of this follows the wrestler’s very tumultuous months after his internet troll comments came back to haunt him.
According to Sports Illustrated, several years ago Sullivan posted offensive comments under two usernames (“ElPerfecto” and “Disenfranchised”) but using a photo of himself.
The comments, made between 2007 and 2013, included sexist remarks about WWE executive Stephanie McMahon, racist comments regarding another user, and homophobic insults about NFL quarterback Phillip Rivers.
Here’s just a sample of what the homophobic remarks were like: “Philip Rivers = Crybaby b*tch and is extremely gay. Most of California, especially sothern cal, is gay. Fits well. Hell ‘Philip’ is a gay name in itself!@”
Turns out he had disparaging thoughts regarding Hispanics, Muslims and other wrestlers as well. He also once shared that “there is a grey area when it comes to the definition of rape.”
Sullivan was fined $100,000 by the WWE based on breaking a morality clause in his contract, and issued an apology.
“There is no excuse for the inappropriate remarks that I made years ago,” said Sullivan in a statement released by the WWE. “They do not reflect my personal beliefs nor who I am today, and I apologize to anyone I offended.”
And now, his gay porn past comes back into focus.
“The guilty dog barks the loudest.”
Just to be clear – there’s nothing wrong with being gay; there’s nothing wrong with doing gay porn; but I do have a problem with folks making homophobic comments to sooth their own self-loathing when they’ve taken money earned from the gay community.
In a new documentary from Channel 5 in the U.K., former military service member Daniel McGraffin says he found it difficult to find a decent paying job until he discovered he could earn up to £1,000 a day as a gay-for-pay porn actor.
Sharing his story in The Sex Business: Swinging Both Ways, McGraffin says he spent six years as a soldier in the artillery until one day, due to lack of sleep, he snapped. At the end of a two-week leave, he went AWOL for a year.
He was sentenced to 8 months in a military prison, and upon his release went in search of a job.
After working as a janitor in a gym, then as a personal trainer and a DJ, a friend (who works as a dominatrix) told him about a guy who was “totally straight but does gay porn.”
She put him in contact with a producer who told McGraffin “the majority of it’s fake” and hired the former military service member for £750 for a shoot.
McGraffin liked the experience – and the money – so he researched the porn industry and eventually landed a 3-year contract with Lucas Entertainment.
He says he looked into the straight porn industry but found “in gay porn, there’s way less competition, and there’s no money in straight porn. For a straight guy, there’s way more money in gay porn.” And so, he decided to work as a gay-for-pay performer.
McGraffin, who goes by the stage name Geordie Jackson, pointedly shares in the documentary, “My sexual identity is straight, one hundred percent straight.”
His girlfriend, Freya, appears in the documentary as well and she’s totally onboard with McGraffin’s career choice.
“It’s fake,” she tells the viewer. “People say he must be a little bit gay, [but] when he gets back, he doesn’t want to think about anyone with a d**k.”
Freya explains if he was working in straight porn it might bother her since there would be the potential for him to be attracted to co-stars, but with men “that risk isn’t there.”
McGraffin admits there are people who say he’s gay because he looks so at ease in his videos, but he just takes that as a compliment on his acting skills.
“They don’t know the tricks of the trade,” he explains. “They say ‘you look like you’re enjoying it’. And I say, ‘thanks, that means I’m a good actor.’”
Asked if he considers himself an ally to the LGBTQ community, he’s unsure but shares that his brother is openly gay.
He also explains the logic, at least for him, for remaining in the adult entertainment industry as a gay-for-pay performer.
“I ain’t smart, academically,”he admits. “It’s either this or going to work in a warehouse, ’cause I have no qualifications. I have driving qualifications, but obviously, I’ve had one of them lifestyles where I’ve been banned from driving. So driving jobs are a no go.”
“You need to make your money, man,” he continues. “I’m glad I found porn because I make more money now than I ever have. I see the perks of it now, I don’t even think about what I’ve got to do anymore, it’s that easy.”
Some viewers, however, took to Twitter to express their skepticism about the “100% straight” label and also take offense at the gay-for-pay idiom.
We’re not here to judge, though. How McGraffin identifies is his own business.
And speaking of ‘business,’ check out some of the adult entertainer’s Instagram account below.
I know, I know…it’s hard work but someone’s got to do it. Rettenmund ranked the first 40 in order, and then the other 185 adult performers are included and listed in alphabetical order.
As they say, “Just to be nominated is an honor…” Now, in all honesty, I’ll admit my knowledge of gay-porn performers is much more limited than Rettenmund, who earlier in his career worked as a gay-porn industry professional for publications like Torso, Honcho, Playguy and Mandate.
Ok, so I do know who Austin Wolf is… (via Instagram)
As Boy Culture points out, gay men didn’t have much back in the 1980s and 90s in terms of “societal instruction on what happens when two guys fall in love, or even lust.” So, gay porn was about the only source we had for figuring out how this all might work.
I remember some of these guys from videos my first boyfriend had back in the 1980s, but I’m not so good with names in terms of today’s adult performers.
But the internet loves lists, so I’ll share Rettenmund’s “Top 10” here, but you can click over to Boy Culture for the full Top 40 plus all of his honorary mentions.
As Rettenmund writes, “It’s not science, so please don’t flunk me.”
10. Lukas Ridgeston (b. 1974) 9. Brent Corrigan (Sean Paul Lockhart, b. 1986) 8. Austin Wilde (b. 1983) 7. Kevin Williams (b. 1965) 6. Chad Douglas (Martin R. Cox, 1957-1999/AIDS) 5. Jack Wrangler (John Robert Stillman, 1946-2009/emphysema) 4. Ryan Idol (Marc Anthony Donais, b. 1966) 3. Joey Stefano (Nicholas Anthony Iacona Jr., 1968-1994/O.D.) 2. Jeff Stryker (Charles Casper Peyton, b. 1962)
And Boy Culture’s number one adult entertainment star is…
