The 2026 AVNs: An Awards Season I Won’t Forget

On November 20th, 2025, AVN Media Network brought everyone back to the Avalon nightclub in Hollywood for the annual 2026 AVN Awards Nomination Party. I was asked to co-present the nominations alongside AVN Media Network CEO Tony Rios, and I have to tell you – standing on that stage, looking out at a room full of the most talented people in this business, was one of those moments that catches you off guard. You think you’re ready for it, and then it hits you.

The Avalon is a beautiful venue. The energy that night was genuinely electric – not in the manufactured, “we’re all supposed to be excited” way, but the real kind. People were genuinely happy to be there, happy to see each other, and the nominations themselves sparked real conversation.

AVN introduced two brand new categories for the 2026 show: Best DP/Mondo Movie or Series, and Best Indie/Amateur Movie or Series. Both long overdue, if you ask me. The indie and amateur space has been producing some of the most interesting work in the industry for years, and it’s about time the show caught up.

I walked the red carpet that night feeling proud. Proud of this industry, proud of the people in it, and proud to still be a part of it after all this time. I’ve been on stages and red carpets since the early 1980s, and I promise you – the feeling never gets old.

Las Vegas in January: The Main Event

The 2026 AVN Awards and Adult Entertainment Expo ran January 21st through 24th at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. I’ve been to more of these than I can count, and every year it manages to feel both familiar and fresh. The Expo floor is always buzzing, and this year was no different.

I signed at the official AVN booth, and those hours are always some of my favorite of the event. Especially when Micky Lynn appears!

And there’s something about sitting down with a fan who’s been following your work for 4 decades, or meeting someone who just discovered you a month ago. Both experiences are equally wonderful. I signed photos, took pictures, and spent time with people who genuinely care about this art form and the performers who create it.

This year I shared signing duties with several adult legends. We alternated, which meant fans had a reason to come back to the main booth more than once – and plenty of them did. Most stars also had their own booths deeper inside the event.

On Day 3 of the event, the AVN booth had all the stars from The Naughty Nanny meeting and signing for fans at once. Myself, Ariel Demure, Brittany Andrews, Jade Evans and Taylor Vixxen. Brittany and I go way back, and working alongside her at the booth felt like a natural extension of the time we spent together on the set. If you haven’t caught the previews for that film yet, you can read all about it at the link above. The response from fans has been really gratifying.

Jewel DeNyle: A Reunion That Meant the World to Me

Seeing Jewel DeNyle at AVN this year stopped me in my tracks. We spotted each other across the room and it was one of those full-circle moments that you don’t plan for – you just get lucky enough to experience.

Jewel and I worked together on Sticky Side Up 4, directed by Mike Stefano, and that film was genuinely one of the highlights of the 2000s chapter of my career. Jewel is the kind of performer who makes everyone around her better. She brings this intensity and authenticity to everything she does, and working with her was a dream come true for me. I’d admired her for years before we got on set together, and she didn’t disappoint. She exceeded every expectation.

What I think people sometimes don’t realize about Jewel is how much she gave to this industry. She’s in the NightMoves, AVN, and XRCO Halls of Fame, and she earned every single one of those honors. She was a force. She still is.

We’ve stayed in each other’s orbits over the years, but life has a way of pulling people in different directions. Getting to actually spend time with her at AVN, to catch up properly and remind each other of our work together – that was a gift. We’re still friends and admirers of each other’s work. And it was just so good to be back in real contact with her

Tyffany Million, the White Party, and Other Reunions

The whole week felt like a corporate retreat of some kind. A reunion. Tyffany Million was there, and seeing her was exactly what you’d expect if you know her – warm, funny, and completely herself. A true Jane of all trades!

We’ve been friends for a long time – she’s my best friend in the industry – and Tyffany is one of those people who makes every room better just by walking into it. She’s been on a bit of a victory lap lately, and rightfully so. Her induction into the AVN Hall of Fame in 2025 was a moment the whole industry celebrated.

I also got to spend time with the lovely Kianna Bradley and the powerhouse Puma Swede. These are women who have put in the work, built real careers, and still show up with the same passion they had at the beginning. That’s rare. That’s something worth celebrating at events like these.

The White Party after-party was a whole other level of fun. The place was packed with stars and the energy was exactly what you want during an expo – loose, celebratory, and full of genuine affection for each other. No politics, no posturing. Just people who love what they do, celebrating the fact that they get to do it.

A Career That Has Spanned Every Decade

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means to have a career that has touched every single decade since this industry began. I started in 1983 – nineteen years old on Bobby Hollander’s set, with no idea what I was getting into. I made films through the eighties, the nineties, the 2000s, and now here we are in the 2020s – and I’m still at it.

Every era has been different. The technology changes, the distribution changes, the faces change. What doesn’t change is the core of what this industry is about – connection, fantasy, and the courage to be completely yourself on camera. I’ve never taken that lightly. Not once in forty-plus years.

The 2000s, in particular, were a rich chapter that I’m still proud of. That era had a certain texture – a commitment to craft remained that I think sometimes gets lost in the conversation about what the industry was like then. Every decade brought new challenges, new collaborators, new reasons to stay. And every decade, I stayed.

What’s Coming in 2026

I’m not going to pretend I have nothing up my sleeve. I do. There’s a big project in the works for this year, and I can’t share details just yet – but it’s real, it’s happening, and when I’m ready to talk about it, you’ll hear it here first. The right project, the right people, the right moment. That’s always been my standard, and I’m not lowering it now.

In the meantime, there’s The Naughty Nanny to enjoy – details are all here on the site – and check my Instagram for more photos from the awards season.

Thank You, AVN. Thank You, Fans.

Every year I go to AVN, I come home with the same feeling: grateful. Grateful for this industry, for the people in it, for the fans who have stuck with me through every chapter. I’ve won the awards. I’ve been inducted into the halls of fame. I’ve done the club tours and the mainstream crossovers and the radio show and the comeback films.

None of it means anything without the people who show up. The ones who come to the booth, who follow along online, who send the messages and the kind words. You are why I’m still here.

Additional thanks to Tony Rios, Peter Warren, Joanne Cachapero, and all the AVN staff – it takes a village! Also, Sandy Makeup for my hair / makeup, and the sponsors who made my trip possible. Another exciting award season comes to a close. And I’m already looking forward to the next one.