CERRITOS, Calif. — Sportsheets is kicking off its summer product releases with the launch of its LaCire collection of candles formed after the human body.

The new LaCire collection is made with a soy-paraffin wax blend that melts to a warming temperature for massage play. LaCire also includes three new massage drip candles made of body-safe paraffin wax, which the company says is the same type that’s used in salon treatments. The massage drip candles come in a set of three and are available in three colors: violet, black and white.

“We’re very excited for the release of LaCire, the first Sportsheets foray into the sensual massage candle market,” B2B Sales Manager Julia Harney said. “Between the body-shaped torso models and the pillar drip candles, the feedback has already been amazing. We can’t wait for our partners to get their hands on them.”

The new LaCire collection will be available for pre-orders beginning June 5.

“Pairing sensual massage candles with our tried-and-true couple’s items was a natural evolution for Sportsheets,” CEO Julie Stewart said. “We are thrilled to launch LaCire and other new products just in time to help boost summer sales — and as always we welcome feedback from our retail partners.”

Sportsheets will unveil further Summer 2021 product releases in the weeks ahead.

May 19, 2021 5:31 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES — Twice-crowned XBIZ “Girl/Girl Performer of the Year” Charlotte Stokely will lend her expertise to the XBIZ Miami panel “Price to Entice” Monday, May 24, at 11 a.m. (PDT).

She will also host her own meet-and-greet for industry talent on Wednesday, May 26, at 9 a.m. (PDT).

The “Price to Entice” panel, hosted by XBIZ Managing Editor of Digital Media Alejandro Freixes, will examine the optimum pricing solutions to best serve models’ premium social media feeds, noted a rep.

On Wednesday, Stokely will host her own virtual networking “booth” for XBIZ Miami attendees to “come and say hello and explore business opportunities with the star via personal video chat,” the rep explained.

Stokely expressed excitement about joining the roster of talent for the summer conference series.

“By sharing our experiences, we not only further our collective knowledge, but bring people together to connect when we need it the most,” she said.

Visit XBIZMiami.com for additional information, including registration details.

Follow Charlotte Stokely online and on Twitter for the latest updates.

NEW YORK — Pornhub announced today the launch of “Remastured,” a project that employs advanced AI technology to restore and colorize some of the oldest erotic films ever produced.

The “Remastured” campaign is a collaborative initiative with creative agency Officer & Gentleman and creative studio Espada Santacruz, 

Pornhub, a rep explained, “used machine learning and over 100,000 adult videos and images from its library to colorize vintage porn for today’s modern audience.”

“Viewers are transported back in time to experience century-old erotic films featuring voluptuous Victorians and silent seducers in titillating technicolor with ‘The Remastured Film Library,’” added the rep.

Turn-of-the-Century Bush

“Since the moment someone figured out how to record moving images, people have been making adult movies,” the rep said. “We thought it was important to not only preserve but modernize these films, and we are very excited to include this selection of artfully restored vintage material to our library, allowing users to indulge in old-school erotica from a bygone era.”

The company noted that although it is common practice in film to colorize and restore even the most antique footage, the available algorithms “are lacking since standard deep-learning models are trained with millions of SFW images, not nude or even pornographic ones.”

By introducing the AI to Pornhub’s massive content library, the rep continued, “it learned a naughty new trick — how to detect the subtle shades of penises, nipples and turn-of-the-century bush.”

A Commitment to Smut’s History

“The Remastured Film Library” features a collection of 20 visually restored scenes ranging from the 1890s to the 1940s, featuring the work of film pioneers like Thomas Edison and George Méliès and elaborate plots of the modern porn aficionado’s favorite categories —  ‘co-eds,’ ‘masseurs,’ ‘orgies,’ ‘threesomes,’ ‘foursomes,’ ‘spankings,’ ‘cosplay,’ ‘strap-ons’ and more.

The restoration process included preparation of images (noise reduction, sharpening and contrasting), colorizing using deep learning, boosting to 60 frames per second (FPS), re-scaling to crisp 4K resolution, digital remastering (cleaning artifacts, stabilization and flickering reduction) and remastering audio or adding a new audio track.

Pornhub’s history of supporting the preservation of early erotic films includes partnerships with the Museum of Sex in New York City, Maccarone fine art gallery in Los Angeles and the online premier of “Shakedown,” the critically-acclaimed documentary art film centered around the Black lesbian stripper scene in early oughts Los Angeles by filmmaker and vanguard artist Leilah Weinraub.

For more information on “The Remastured Library,” click here and follow Pornhub on Twitter.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — Apple’s COO Tim Cook will reportedly testify on Friday during the last phase of the civil lawsuit filed by video game manufacturer Epic Games against the tech giant over their mobile app store commissions.

Apple’s lawyers had previously accused Epic of enabling users to access “unspeakable” and “objectionable” sexual content through the gaming company’s app store.

While the lawsuit is primarily an anti-trust case designed to examine if Apple can require a 30% cut of all sales in its app store, and over their terms of service decisions, Apple’s lawyers changed the conversation to allege that Epic Games’ presence in the app store would enable people to access “sexualized” content.

Apple has consistently attempted to switch the attention of the public from the anti-trust nature of the original lawsuit in a salacious direction. Their attorneys even brought up during the trial the humanoid banana character Peely, featured in Epic’s blockbuster phenomenon “Fortnite.”

Enter ‘Peely’

According to tech news site The Verge, one of Apple’s attorneys used an image of Peely in a tuxedo when questioning Matthew Weissinger, Epic’s VP of Marketing, because “we thought it better to go with the suit than the naked banana, since we are in federal court this morning.”

Epic’s own attorney revisited the Peely issue later that day and asked Weissinger, “If we could just put on the screen a picture of Peely — is there anything inappropriate about Peely without clothes?”

To which Weissinger replied, “It’s just a banana, ma’am.”

A more serious problem for Epic could be its relationship to Itch.io. Founded in 2013 as a marketplace for indie games, Itch.io is open to more types of games than other platforms and as a result has become home to hundreds of sexually-oriented video games. As of May 2021, there are over 400 games in Itch.io’s marketplace that are tagged as “porn.”

‘Unspeakable’ Games

As a third-party app, Itch.io and its offerings are not reviewed by Epic and Apple has used this as an opportunity to connect Epic’s core business to Itch.io’s “unspeakable” games, including games with sensational names like “Sisterly Lust.”

“The description of that game includes a list of fetishes which include many words that are not appropriate for us to speak in federal courts,” noted one of Apple’s lawyers during the trial.

Apple’s legal tactic appears to be an attempt to pressure U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers to decide whether to force a private business into selling material they consider objectionable, diverting attention from the anti-trust allegations against them.

Cook, the Associated Press reported today, “will be taking the stand as Apple prepares to wrap its case before the two sides make their closing arguments and answer Judge Rogers’ questions about the evidence on Monday.”

May 19, 2021 3:35 PM PDT

MIAMI — Kiki Klout will make her second appearance on Exxxotica.tv’s “Happy Hour-ish” Friday at 2 p.m. (PDT). She’ll appear opposite Sabrina Night (aka Sabien DeMonia) and hosts J and Dan.

“Get ready to be entertained, and nothing is off-limits from adult to sports and beyond. It’s the best way to start your weekend and enjoy an adult beverage,” enthused a rep.

Klout looks forward to the live broadcast.

“I had an incredible time when I was on the show in March, and I’m excited to be doing it again. Dan and J definitely know how to have a good time. So be ready to have a lot of fun,” she exclaimed.

Find “Happy Hour-ish” online and on YouTube and Twitter; the episode will repeat throughout the weekend and then join the Exxxotica.tv archive. 

AMA Modeling represents Kiki Klout; follow her on Twitter and OnlyFans.

May 19, 2021 3:22 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES — Alt Erotic is introducing “Face Tat Mami,” a newcomer who recently received 15 face tattoos in one sitting before filming a hardcore scene for the forthcoming “Ink Motel 3.”

Face Tat Mami is latest performer to join the company’s “Inked Universe,” noted a rep. She is also an aspiring rapper who documented her “artistic face inkings” for the Alt Erotic original docu-series “Many Faces of Mami.”

“We are excited to welcome Face Tat Mami to the Alt Erotic network; she killed it in her starring role in ‘Ink Motel 3,'” CEO and Creative Director Ivan said. “We actually tried to find out if her 15 face tattoos might have been some sort of official world record, but for now, we will call it an ‘unofficial world record.'”

Follow Alt Erotic online and on Twitter and Instagram; find Face Tat Mami on Instagram.

NEW YORK — The New York Times Magazine — an editorially independent section of the New York Times — published today a mainstream-facing, comprehensive look at the OnlyFans phenomenon, penned by celebrated writer, editor and sex worker Charlotte Shane.

The article, titled “OnlyFans Isn’t Just Porn ;),” surveyed a number of aspects of the culturally significant discourses around the name-brand premium fan platform, including its reliance on and uneasiness about sex workers, its role during the pandemic, its place in the ongoing War on Porn and other issues.

Shane — the East Coast-based author of the memoiristic series of essays “Prostitute Laundry,” based on her earlier blog and revered by many sex workers as one of the most honest accounts of life in New York’s commercial sex industry in the 2000s — used a combination of anecdotal evidence, interviews, journalistic reporting and cultural analysis to achieve one of the most astute descriptions of the OnlyFans phenomenon.

Unusually for a New York Times product, Shane’s piece did not dismiss the opinions of sex workers and advocacy groups about issues that concern them, and was unequivocally critical in its assessment of FOSTA-SESTA and the current campaigns to defund adult-oriented websites waged by religiously inspired groups.

Shane placed the rise of OnlyFans in the last year as “a result of creators’ savvy maneuvering and a convergence of circumstances: a global plague, a consumer base accustomed to making spontaneous micropayments (think a $5 donation on a friend’s GoFundMe page or $2.99 episodes of streaming TV shows) and, perhaps most important, a denuded marketplace.”

“OnlyFans was perfectly positioned to become a housebound population’s go-to source for explicit material because of what is called the gentrification of the internet,” Shane wrote. “In the context of sex work, this refers to an aggressive pattern of policing both the sex trade and the people who work in it.”

“In the United States, this regulatory campaign can be traced back to the federal government’s protracted and ultimately successful crusade against Craigslist’s ‘Erotic Services’ in the early 2010s,” Shane explained.

Her assessment represents a striking 180-degree turn from the Times’ own editorial endorsement of legislation that would criminalize sex work.

“Since then, the F.B.I. and federal prosecutors have systematically targeted a slew of sites that cater to sex workers, particularly advertising platforms like Backpage, which shuttered in 2018 after a multiyear effort by California’s attorney general at the time, Kamala Harris. In April that year, the bills known collectively as FOSTA-SESTA, which further criminalize communication around commercial sex, were signed into law by Donald Trump,” noted Shane.

“Prevention of sex trafficking and protection of minors are the most frequent justifications for these laws and prosecutions, but activists reject the claim that these measures help anyone, minors and trafficking victims included,” the author said. “There is evidence to support their arguments. In 2019, for instance, a study conducted by researchers at Baylor and Claremont Graduate Universities found that Craigslist’s affordable ads let workers move indoors and screen clients more effectively, which helped reduce female-victim homicides by 10 to 17 percent.”

To read the complete article, visit the New York Times Magazine.

For more from Charlotte Shane, follow her on Twitter.

LAS VEGAS — Lance Hart’s PervoutAffiliates has inked veteran swordsman Micah Martinez to direct for all-male fetish site ManUpFilms.com.

“The site has seen explosive growth over the past year and fans have been craving more, so bringing Micah will bring exponential new opportunities for the brand,” noted a rep.

Hart praised performer-turned-director for his work ethic.

“It’s been a pleasure getting to know Micah better over the past year. He really sticks out to me as a professional go-getter,” said Hart. “He gets shit done. On top of that, his passion and familiarity with fetishes make him a perfect fit as a new director for Pervout.”

“I’m going to be throwing a lot of work his way,” added Hart.

Martinez noted he is “beyond excited” by the opportunity.

“From watching the vids, to performing in them, to making them myself with the help of all the awesome people that have shown me the way, I’m thrilled to contribute with new ideas that are equal parts intriguing, funny, and hot,” he enthused.

An initial batch of scenes are now in post-production, noted the rep, with a second group set to film in the coming weeks.

Visit PervoutAffiliates.com and direct inquiries to jesse@pervout.com.

Follow Pervout, Lance Hart and Micah Martinez on Twitter for updates.

SANFORD, N.C. — Motorbunny has announced new integration with Chaturbate, allowing anyone with an internet connection — and explicit permission with a link from the performer — to control their rideable sex machine via web browser.

“This is perfect for performers who want to reach the next level of intimacy with customers on the camsite,” said a rep.

Motorbunny CMO Craig Mewbourne said, “We are always trying to find new ways to create intimate, creative moments for people who are physically separated, and the Chaturbate integration is the perfect fit. Our open API allows anyone to use our Link tech for integration with apps and games, and Chaturbate accessibility is just one of the many ways we hope to change the game in sex tech.”

Motorbunny described their Link technology as “an evolving set of capabilities that give Motorbunny owners an entirely new world of riding experiences.”

“You can control your partner’s Motorbunny from around the world, use pre-set routines for complex combinations of ‘buzz’ and ‘twirl’ patterns that no human can manually replicate on any Bluetooth vibrator, sync your Motorbunny to music and games, and take control using voice commands,” the rep explained.

“Motorbunny Link opens the door to this world via a modular controller and free iOS or Android app,” they added.

Click here for additional details and follow Motorbunny on Twitter.

OTTAWA, Canada — Zumio is celebrating top honors from the 2021 A’ Design Awards for its latest Zumio-i pleasure device.

A international jury panel was convened for the design competition covering 104 categories. The jurors — established scholars, creative design professionals and noted entrepreneurs — used a blind-peer review approach to evaluating product entries.

“Securing the ‘A’ Design Award-Winner’ logo for your product is considered the highest achievement in design,” said a rep. “When it comes to sexual exploration, Zumio is first-in-class for their approach to designing pleasure products that offer an unmatched user experience in the industry today.

Zumio-i, only launched last month in partnership with Design 1st, is “already an award-winning product,” the rep added.

“We are thrilled to receive this award from A’ Design Awards,” Zumio CTO Kevin Bailey said. “This accolade is further recognition that the Zumio products are breaking the sex-toy mold by introducing rotation technology for stimulation over the traditional vibration technology found throughout the industry.”

The A’ Design award in the “Adult Toys and Products Design” category rewarded Zumio-i’s “groundbreaking design and technology capabilities, including SpiroTip rotating motion technology for clitoral stimulation, ultra-fine, teardrop-shaped tip, direct drive technology to slow down the tip speed, ergonomic grip and environmentally friendly packaging,” the rep explained.

For more information, visit MyZumio.com and follow the company on Twitter.