Montana District Court Denies Motion to Dismiss FSC Lawsuit in ‘Major Victory’

HELENA, Mont. — Free Speech Coalition (FSC) scored a major victory Tuesday in its fight against Montana’s age verification law, when a Montana district court denied the state’s motion to dismiss the adult industry trade association’s lawsuit challenging the statute.

In a major victory for Free Speech Coalition’s fight against age-verification laws, a Montana District Court has denied the state’s Motion to Dismiss, allowing the suit to proceed. The Montana ruling stands in stark opposition to a separate recent decision in Utah, where the state’s motion to dismiss was granted.

Like the Utah law and those in several other states, Montana’s law allows for enforcement only through private lawsuits, meaning that citizens—rather than the state—can sue websites for non-compliance. Supporters of the law argue that because no government official is directly responsible for enforcement, the law cannot be challenged until someone sues under it.

“This is a major victory in the fight for free speech and internet freedom,” says Alison Boden, Executive Director of Free Speech Coalition. “Despite the Montana Attorney General’s attempt to dismiss the validity of our claims, the court has ruled that the case can proceed. We look forward to arguing this case on its merits.”

Free Speech Coalition filed suit against the Montana Attorney General in May, arguing that Montana’s SB 544 violates rights granted by the First Amendment and the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses, in addition to the Commerce and Supremacy Clauses of the Constitution. The court dismissed the Commerce Clause claim but allowed all other claims to proceed.

Free Speech Coalition has previously secured preliminary injunctions against unconstitutional age-verification laws in District Courts in Indiana and Texas. The Indiana case has proceeded to discovery and the Supreme Court will hear arguments regarding the Texas case in early 2025. 

Representing Free Speech Coalition and its co-plaintiffs in this case are Jeff Sandman of Webb Daniel Friedlander LLP, D. Gill Sperlein of the Law Office of D. Gill Sperlein, and Natasha Prinzing Jones of Boone Karlberg P.C.

Centrobill Launches Redesigned Merchant Portal

Centrobill Launches Redesigned Merchant Portal

LOS ANGELES — Payment processing service Centrobill has launched its redesigned merchant portal.

“The update introduces a modern look and feel, with key data now front and center through customizable widgets,” said a rep. “This means less time searching and more time making decisions.”

The new design also features enhanced reporting tools that deliver real-time analytics to track performance. 

“Our goal was to create a merchant portal that’s not just functional but practical to use,” said CEO Chris Tisdall. “With faster and more powerful reporting and a more dynamic interface, our partners can stay ahead with minimal effort.”

For more information, visit Centrobill.com.

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CAM4’s ‘XXX Factor’ Talent Show Returns for 2nd Edition

CAM4's 'XXX Factor' Talent Show Returns for 2nd Edition

BERLIN — CAM4’s talent show ‘XXX Factor’ will be back in November for a second season.

Citing the “incredible success” of last year’s debut event, a rep promised that the second season of “XXX Factor” would be “even more electrifying.”

“Hosted by Cam4, this year’s event is set to be bigger, bolder and packed with more excitement, providing broadcasters with the ultimate platform to showcase their unique talents, engage with a global audience and supercharge their careers through extensive promotion and airtime,” the rep said.

The Talent Upload Period, during which broadcasters may submit two-minute videos, runs from Nov. 1 until Nov. 17. The Voting Phase goes from Nov. 18 to Nov. 24, with the finalists revealed between Nov. 25 and Nov. 29. The Grand Finale Showdown is on Nov. 29 at 9 p.m. CET.

“The finale will be a must-watch live event where finalists go head-to-head for the crown,” the rep enthused.

The event prizes will be $1,000 (1st), $750 (2nd), $500 (3rd), $250 (4th) and $100 (5th through 7th).
People nominating the winners can earn $100.

Only verified Cam4 accounts are eligible to enter. The event is open to participants in the U.K., Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Australia. Finalists must be available to broadcast live during the Grand Finale.

CAM4 Regional Manager Alexandra said, “We’re beyond thrilled to bring back ‘XXX Factor’ for a second season, even bigger and bolder than before. This talent show is all about empowering broadcasters to showcase their creativity, express their individuality and connect with a global audience. The possibilities are endless, and we can’t wait to see the incredible talents that will emerge this year!”

For more information, visit Cam4.com.

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Leading Gay Performers Warn About Project 2025

LOS ANGELES — Several leading gay performers spoke last week to Pride.com about the upcoming election, sharing their concerns about the conservative Project 2025 plan to criminalize the production and distribution of adult content.

Written by Porn.com’s Ricky Cornish and Ariel Messman-Rucker, the aims aims to educate gay porn enthusiasts about the risks posed to adult entertainment by the Heritage Foundation-led Project 2025 agenda.

“If Donald Trump and the far-right architects behind Project 2025 get their way, online porn may go the way of the dinosaurs because porn will be banned, the producers and distributors will be sent to prison, and the tech companies that circulate it will be shut down — no, really,” Cornish and Messman-Rucker write.

The article highlights the work of the #HandsOffMyPorn campaign led by Holly Randall and 16 other adult industry performers and directors, which has purchased ad space on adult sites targeting the seven swing states that may decide the 2024 presidential election: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.

“I obviously fully support the ad campaign and the message that we as porn stars need to send out to the masses,” reigning XBIZ Gay Performer of the Year Derek Kage told Pride.com. “Project 2025 not only aims to make Trump the most unchecked president in modern United States history, but also aims to erase decades of progress that we have made as Americans. It aims to erase adult entertainment which is without question constitutionally-protected free speech. Getting this message out is extremely important to ensure Project 2025 doesn’t set into motion a major attack on our protected freedoms and to enjoy adult entertainment.”

Kage added that ads targeting young men who enjoy gay porn should be “blunt and right to the point.”

“Something like ‘This video/site/studio could get banned if you don’t vote,’” Kage suggested. “We can’t sugar coat anything when it comes to Project 2025 … Could you imagine what adult entertainment would look like if conservatives banned porn? We would go back to the days where a woman showing a little leg was considered salacious. Putting consenting adults in jail for recording themselves having sex? It’s terrifying to think about.”

Jkab Ethan Dale also supports reaching out to people directly affected by the proposed porn ban. 

“Anyone in porn, and who watches porn should be concerned,” Dale told Pride.com. “This 900-page document outlines a very extreme Republican Agenda that Trump is a part of. Every vote matters, from your local representatives, to congress, all the way up to the presidency. This is the most important election of our lifetime.”

Noted performer Michael Boston said, “Every drop in the bucket counts when it comes to helping voters understand their possible choices. I think the ads could sway voters of any gender identity and/or sexual orientation. This is free speech. It would be so crazy to censor porn. Especially when the only people who want that are religious zealots, who like to gain piety and yet they have their own insidious skeletons in their closets.”

The Pride.com piece also consulted Dom King, Tony Genius, Lil Buff Bro, Damien, Jordan Starr and AltSHIFT Films producers Sam and Ed.

Sam and Ed shared, “It’s so important to get the word out that our fundamental freedoms are under attack, because these kinds of policies often go unseen and uncommented upon until it’s too late. To see pornographers articulating our worries and directly addressing our audience makes us proud that our industry is standing up to the interests of patriarchal institutions and disingenuous charlatans who stigmatize healthy sexual expression as a means of control.”

EPA United to Host Online Pre-Election Adult Industry Town Hall

EPA United to Host Online Pre-Election Adult Industry Town Hall

LOS ANGELES — Erotic Professionals & Allies United (EPA United) will host a pre-election industry town hall for sex workers and allies, Tuesday, Oct. 29 at 5 p.m. (PDT), on X.com.

The event will cover topics such as local elections, reasons to vote, and possible post-election political scenarios relevant to sex workers and their communities.

Participants in the forum include Savannah Sly (EPA United), Mike Stabile (Free Speech Coalition), Madison Zack-Wu (Strippers Are Workers), Carly David (PS Group), adult industry attorney Corey Silverstein, Clara Kitty (Cpank Chain), Ricci Levy and Mandy Sally (Woodhull Freedom Foundation), as well as adult industry workers Queen Lo, Sinn Sage, and Allie Awesome.

“The Twitter/X Space event will include discussions on the mission of EPA United, the importance of politically mobilizing the sex work community, and how allies can make a difference,” said a rep. “Speakers will be invited to share perspectives on policy priorities that will improve the safety and prosperity of adult industry professionals. The format will feature an open floor for questions and closing remarks from key participants.”

Added Sly, “This forum is a space for collaboration and information sharing during a critical time for the U.S. We aim to amplify the voices of sex workers and their allies, ensuring that politicians recognize us as a powerful and essential voting bloc.”

For more information, visit EPAUnited.org and follow the organization on X.com.

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Lilly Bell Drops New ‘Pearl’ Parody Clip

Lilly Bell Drops New 'Pearl' Parody Clip

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Lilly Bell has released a new clip on her OnlyFans.

Inspired by the titular character from the 2022 slasher film “Pearl,” Lilly wears a red dress, black boots, her hair in pigtails and red lipstick in the clip.

She also carries an ax and “transforms herself entirely into the character and gives her subscribers a show of her acting.” 

Bell enthused about the clip.

“Pearl is one of my favorite movie characters ever, so I was really excited when Halloween came around because I wanted to cosplay her,” Bell said. “I’m so excited about this release. I know it’s not particularly the sexiest Halloween look ever, but Halloween doesn’t always have to be about sexy. It can also be about scary.”

The scene is streaming on Lilly Bell’s OnlyFans.

Follow Lilly Bell on X.com.

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‘Cash-Strapped’ U of Wisconsin Spent Over $130K Investigating Joe Gow

LA CROSSE, Wis. — The Universities of Wisconsin reportedly spent over $130,000 investigating recently terminated communications professor and former Chancellor Joe Gow for creating and appearing in adult content.

An invoice provided by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), an organization that assisted in Gow’s legal defense, shows that the UW system paid legal firm Husch Blackwell $133,365.75 “for professional services rendered and costs advanced through April 30, 2024.”

Husch Blackwell was engaged by the Universities of Wisconsin to investigate allegations of misconduct against Gow, according to the invoice.

The document goes on to detail the specifics of the investigation, which included analysis of documents, books, social media and videos — presumably including Gow’s amateur pornography — as well as witness interviews and forensic review of multiple electronic devices.

The money, which ultimately comes from Wisconsin taxpayers, was spent at the same time that the university system was preparing to ask Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers for nearly a billion dollars in state funding, according to an August AP report.

“Universities of Wisconsin regents agreed overwhelmingly on Aug. 22 to ask Gov. Tony Evers for an additional $855 million for the cash-strapped system in the 2025-27 state budget,” the report says. 

As XBIZ reported last month, Gow was first fired as chancellor, and later, following a hearing, stripped of his tenure and terminated, for posting adult videos with his wife on an OnlyFans account.

FIRE Faculty Legal Defense Counsel Zach Greenberg expressed dismay at a public university spending such a large amount on investigating Gow’s activities in the midst of crying poverty.

“Professor Gow’s pornography remains protected by the First Amendment and should never have prompted a misconduct investigation,” Greenberg said. “Wisconsin taxpayers should be outraged that their money is being wasted on witch hunts. Even one dollar is too much to spend on censorship.”

In an exclusive interview with XBIZ on the day he was formally fired, Gow emphasized the political and fiscal calculations behind his termination.

“What we’re seeing here today is the system president and the Board of Regents saying, ‘We don’t want to get a lot of grief from the far right, because we want to get our funding. So let’s just fire this guy entirely and risk a lawsuit, but we’ll do what the politicians want.’”

Mistress Kora Bell to Appear at Exxxotica NJ

EDISON, N.J. — Mistress Kora Bell will appear at Exxxotica N.J. in Edison, Oct. 25-27.

Bell will sign autographs, sell merch and give away stickers at the Pineapple Support booth, #733, on Friday, 5-9 p.m., Saturday, 3-7 p.m., and Sunday, 3-5 p.m.

“I’m really looking forward to Exxxotica N.J., especially since last year it signified my real start in the industry,” Bell said. “It was so exciting to walk around the floor and actually have some fans recognize me. My career took off after meeting some amazing people and collab’ing at this Exxxotica show. I’m looking forward to meeting more of my fans and networking with more creators and adult industry businesses.”

For more information about Exxxotica N.J., click here.

Follow Mistress Kora Bell on X.com.

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Lauren Phillips to Sign at Exxxotica NJ

EDISON, N.J. — Lauren Phillips will be in attendance at Exxxotica N.J., this weekend, Oct. 25-27, in Edison.

The New Jersey native will pose for selfies, sell merch and sign autographs at the LoyalFans/Spotlight booth. Her signing hours are Fri., 5-11 p.m., Sat., 3-8 p.m., and Sun., 1-6 p.m.

“I love coming home to do Exxxotica,” Phillips said. “I can’t wait to meet my fans this weekend. I also get to see my industry friends and make new ones, which makes for an incredible weekend.”

For more information about Exxxotica N.J., click here.

Follow Lauren Phillips on X.com.

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Ray Ray to Appear at Exxxotica NJ

EDISON, N.J. — Ray Ray will appear at Exxxotica N.J. this weekend in Edison.

She will be at her own booth during show hours on Fri., Oct. 25, through Sun., Oct. 27. A rep said she will be “selfie-ready,” dressed in different cosplay heroes each day. Ray Ray will also sell merch, play interactive games with attendees and provide some additional “surprises.”

“This is one of my favorite trade shows,” said Ray Ray. “So many fans come out to see me, and tons of my industry friends are here. It’s like a three-day party. If you’re in the area or planning to be, you don’t want to miss it.”

For more information about Exxxotica N.J., click here.

Follow Ray Ray on X.com.

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