Jenna Haze Announces Retirement Via YouTube Video

CHATSWORTH, Calif.—Speculation has been brewing for months, but today Jenna Haze made it official: She has indeed decided the curtain is closed on her porn performing career, and announced as much to the world via a YouTube video posted to her Tumblr blog. "I would like to take this opportunity to officially announce my retirement from adult," Haze said in the video. "I am going to keep directing, but I am definitely done performing. I actually shot my last scene last April, so it's been almost a year now, and I feel like it's about time that I let you guys know that yes, I am in fact retired, and I wanted my fans to find out first, so that's why I'm doing this video." Haze went on to say that she has multiple "non-adult related projects that I'm working on," and that fans could continue following her exploits on Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram. This announcement comes just after Haze was inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame at the 2012 AVN Awards ceremony last month, having reached the minimum 10-year mile marker for eligibility last summer. (Read AVN's August cover story celebrating this achievement here.) It also arrives mere days after she landed the cover of FHM magazine alongside rocker/actress buddy Taylor Momsen.  In a follow-up press release from Haze's PR representatives, Rising Star PR, she elaborated, "I always said that I would give up performing if I wasn’t going to be into it 100 percent. Directing is where my heart is now. It’s allowed me to explore a creative side that is different from what performing has offered me. I am very satisfied with what I was able to accomplish in 10 years of performing, and now I’m enjoying the challenges of being on the other side of the camera and running my studio." In both the video and the press release, Haze offered special thanks to her loyal fans. "I've always had a very incredible and dedicated fanbase," she said in the release. "I've been thrilled with the reception to the movies I've directed the past three years and I hope they'll continue watching what I do at Jenneration X. I'm going to give them every reason to." Jennaration X Studios is distributed exclusively by Jules Jordan Video. She also added on Twitter that she does plan to continue feature dancing "for a while. Just not performing on camera in adult films." Pictured: Jenna Haze at the 2012 AVN Awards; photographer: Stills By Alan