Elevated X took to social media today to announce they are no longer going to sponsor the YNOT Cammunity event or awards show. This comes after nearly a week of sex workers coming forward with their own stories of inappropriate behavior by the show organizers.
In addition to Elevated X, others have joined in, saying they wanted to distance themselves from the show.
After careful consideration, we have made the decision to withdraw our participation in the YNOT Cammunity event and award show. As many champion the withdrawal of sponsors as a victory, it’s important to clarify what this actually means: Top tier sponsors are the ones who help make sure the trade shows get funded.
We are the ones who pay for us all to have these events, NOT the organizers. At this point, YNOT is a fully funded event, meaning the primary sponsors have each paid upwards of tens of thousands of dollars, which we do not get back simply because we choose to skip the show in protest.
I believe that statement demonstrates the tremendous weight this current situation carries, as well as our commitment to personal safety, integrity, accountability, and what this means for our industry moving forward. That people endured harassment, trauma, abuse and personal violation of any kind at the hands of someone in a position of power and influence in our industry is deeply concerning.
Of equal concern, is the vast number of people who publicly shared accounts of their experiences, stating that they kept quiet out of fear of not being invited to participate at a trade show or not being considered for or given awards. We must accept that YNOT is only the beginning. We now as a collective group, must give equal credence to all facets of the situation, not the least of which is the power held by media outlets involved in awards shows. Elevated X, along with other leading industry brands, will be working to provide safe channels for members of our industry to report incidents and problem behavior under confidentiality and without fear.
It all began with a simple tweet, last May when one of the show organizers talked about an orgy at the event.
This single tweet caused others to come forward with their own stories about the show organizers and the sexual advances that they've made.
One particular sex worker shared private DMs made by one of the co-founders of YNOT, who was trying to hook up with the girl in question, acting as if it were a content collab, despite the fact that the rep from YNOT was, in fact not a male performer, nor is he know to film content. The female went on to state that she felt like the guy from YNOT was using his position to try and coerce girls to have sex with him.
In addition to Elevated X, Sex Worker CEO, Cams.com, Paxum, Warehouse X, and The Rub PR have all announced their withdrawal from the show.
Connon Young from YNOT has made two statements about the incident. The first was made on June 6th, and the 2nd was made earlier today.
I've issued the following statement about the current situation involving my business partner Jay.
Very important update from YNOT.
The YNOT Cam Awards is scheduled to take place on August 9, in Hollywood, California.
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