The Sex Awards Names Kayden Kross Host, Changes Venue

LOS ANGELES—Digital Playground contract star Kayden Kross has been selected to host the inaugural presentation of The Sex Awards, the adult industry’s first consumer-voted award show to be broadcast on national television. “I’m honored to be chosen to represent something so new—and already with such a broad audience,” Kross said. “It’s a huge compliment.” The official 2013 Sex Awards website will launch July 8, allowing fans to vote online for their favorite stars, sites and products in various categories. “As social networking and online technology has evolved, it has made the fan a much more immediate part of our lives and our success,” Kross offered. “It would make sense that an awards show would finally give the voice to the fans as well.” Kross has plenty of experience interacting with the camera, fans and mainstream media; the Penthouse Pet, centerfold and two-time cover model co-hosted the 2010 AVN Awards, and helms her own show, Krossfire, on Playboy Radio. On the mainstream side, the Sacramento-born Swedish-American beauty has appeared on G4’s Attack of the Show, A&E’s Family Jewels, Cinemax’s Life on Top and AMC’s Breaking Bad, among other shows. She will also have a co-starring role in upcoming film The Hangover Games. In 2011, CNBC named her one of its 12 most popular porn stars. Adding to Kross' performance credentials is her writing; her short story “Plank” appeared in the 2012 anthology Forty Stories: New Writing from Harper Perennial, and she is a regular contributor to Complex magazine. Organizers of The Sex Awards have announced a venue change for the live September event due to overwhelming industry support and a high demand for attendance. The recently renovated Avalon Hollywood on Vine Street, directly across from the famed Capitol Records building, will be The Sex Awards’ new home. “We underestimated the kind of response we were going to get from the adult industry,” said Paul Fishbein, president of the X3Sixty Network, which is producing the show alongside AVN Media Network, the company he founded 30 years ago. “We needed to make sure we had seating for all of the industry and talent, and now we do.” Fishbein cites the beauty and character of the Avalon as another reason for the switch. “They’ve totally re-done this classic concert venue and made it comfortable and modern, without losing the character of the building,” he said. “There are great areas for people who want lounge-type boxes with sofas and bottle service, as well as theatre-style seating, opera boxes, standing room at the bars, and a lounge-style seating in the balcony with perfect views of the stage.” The invitation-only event is open to all adult talent and industry personnel. No tickets will be sold to the public for this event. The Sex Awards will be broadcast nationally in January 2014.