Looking over the list of the 10 most-read YNOT posts of 2020, it’s impossible to escape the conclusion that the draw of popular adult performers – a combination of their well-earned name recognition, engaging personalities and intriguing career arcs – defined this year’s list.

It’s fitting that as the dynamics of the adult industry have changed in the age of social media, with far greater direct engagement between fans and performers than there had ever been previously, adult performers cam models and influencers now dominate this kind of most-read list, even on a site like YNOT, historically a business-to-business adult media outlet.

#10: Erik Everhard’s debut as an author. At the number 10 spot, our list begins with the writing debut of veteran adult performer Erik Everhard. YNOT spoke to Everhard when he announced the release of Unleash Your Sexual Superpowers: A Porn Star’s Guide to Sexual Mastery, a book that “aims to be a source and ultimate guide for men to become skilled and confident lovers.”

Referencing both his career in adult entertainment and his training in Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Everhard told YNOT his mission is “to help men by teaching them elite level sexual skills to have confidence with women,” adding that what he teaches “isn’t theory, but no-bullshit, 100% actionable advice that I was privy to learning in the most sexually demanding of all environments.”

#9: The launch of Cam_Girlfriend. Featuring popular Chaturbate broadcaster and adult performer Lily Labeau, the debut of the YouTube comedy series Cam_Girlfriend generated widespread buzz in the industry, earning the number 9 spot in our countdown in the process.

The executive producers of the series said it was inspired by their feeling that “camming was a fascinating world rich with comedic material for us to explore.”

“It’s a place where so much more than just sex happens,” they added. “Friendships are formed, art is expressed, and hilarity occurs daily. In an increasingly digital world, we realized there was no better way to look at digital relationships than through the lens of a cam model.”

#8: Skylar Vox chats with Captain Jack. In an example of how word (and traffic) can spread on and from social media, a post about an interview an adult performer granted to another media outlet received a ton of reads, driven in large part by the post being shared on Twitter and other social media platforms.

The large number of readers the post drew was also reflective of Vox’s busy performing schedule, having recently completed shoots for Shoplyfter, Tushy.com and FTVGirls at the time. Along the way, Vox has garnered quite a few plaudits and even more fans – along with over 170,000 followers on Twitter.

#7: Sofia Rose’s empowering activism. In an example of how doing good can lead to doing well, the seventh spot on our countdown goes to a post announcing the launch of The Empowerment Fund, a collaboration between Sofia Rose, Eliza Allure, Amberly Rothfield and The Cupcake Girls, to benefit minority sex workers and social justice causes like Black Lives Matter.

“I feel a lot of us have become comfortable and, by default, involuntarily complacent when it comes to racism and minority communities,” Rose said at the time. “Coming from a low-income single parent home, I know the struggles and often offer my own support to marginalized and survival sex workers.”

#6: Avi Love, Marc Dorcel and a first for the studio. The popularity of performer Avi Love and the Marc Dorcel imprint combined to take the sixth spot in our 2020 countdown with the release announcement for Climax, the studio’s first U.S.-based feature.

“I’m so proud to be a part of Dorcel’s first-ever all-American cast and crew and it was a mind-blowing experience,” Love said at the time. “Working with Kay (Brandt, the film’s director) and this incredible cast, this is one of my proudest moments in the adult industry, and I think it’s really going to blow the minds of everyone who sees it.”

#5: Lisa Ann’s return to Brazzers. The popularity of iconic MILF performer Lisa Ann, immortalized in the minds of many fans by her depiction of Sarah Palin in porn parodies of yesteryear, exhibits itself just about every time she undertakes a new endeavor, whether within the adult industry or outside it. In the context of this countdown, it’s represented by an announcement of her first scene shot for Brazzers in five years coming in at the fifth spot on our list.

“The theme, the scenes and the fun – I am so proud of everything about collaborating with the wonderful crew at Brazzers to bring our fans exactly what they wanted,” Lisa Ann said of her return performance for the studio. “I can’t thank the team enough to understanding my vision while keeping things next level beautiful and sexy. Brazzers made me feel like a queen!”

#4: The launch of “Vitaly Girls”. If “X-rated prankster” Vitaly Zdorovetskiy has proven nothing else, it’s that the man knows how to draw attention to himself. And if the launch announcement for “Vitaly Girls” landing in the fourth spot on our 2020 countdown is any indication, he knows how to draw attention with and to his press releases, as well.

That said, to hear Zdorovetskiy tell it, the launch of Vitaly Girls was inspired by a more noble purpose than simply driving more publicity.

“It’s been awesome to see other mainstream stars taking the leap into starting their own platforms as well as adult stars breaking away from shooting content for others and monetizing it themselves,” Zdorovetskiy said. “Recently though, I’ve seen some people taking advantage of the system – many companies are not supporting the models that helped build their platforms in the first place. I know many people who have been negatively impacted by this, and I knew I needed to do something to help.”

#3: Sofia Rose and activism, again. In appreciation of her efforts to help and support others, Sofia Rose was awarded the “Humanitarian of the Year” award at the Third Annual BBW Awards – and in another indication of readers’ interest in Rose, the announcement of that award landed in the third spot in our countdown.

Ever humble and down to earth, Rose accepted the award with a refreshing mixt of grace and humility.

“I’ve honestly never thought of myself as a humanitarian my entire career because I believed that coming together and helping each other should be common sense,” Rose said at the time. “Being awarded for being there for people is an honor, but at the same time, it’s a title that all of us should have in our everyday lives within this industry and outside of it.”

#2: OnlyFans creator asserts her intellectual property rights. Unsurprisingly, the only legal story to make our 2020 countdown this year is a lawsuit brought not by a studio or adult company, but by Deniece Waidhofer, an OnlyFans content creator who took aim at piracy of her content. The complaint named Thothub.tv, Cloudfare and 21 Thothub users in alleging violations of the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), Copyright Act, and other torts.

“Thothub and the Members—with the material support of the other Defendants—caused Waidhofer’s content to be stolen from the Licensed Sites and unlawfully published on Thothub,” her complaint alleges. “After being published on Thothub and downloaded by many of its one-million-plus members, Waidhofer’s published and unpublished works have been widely disseminated across the Internet and seen by millions of people. This has caused, and continues to cause, personal, reputational, and monetary harm to Waidhofer.”

#1: Ainslee Divine tells her story to Business Insider. In the top spot on our countdown for 2020 is a post concerning a feature article published by Business Insider about Arizona-based cam model Ainslee Divine – a feature that was, as I noted at the time, “a rare example of mainstream coverage of adult camming absent the sort of sensationalism or focus on negative aspects that all too often colors mainstream coverage of (the) adult industry.”

Rather than offering a salacious portrait of the life of a cam model, the BI profile of Divine is rooted in concrete aspects of her day-to-day, offering a revealing glimpse into a profession, as opposed to the sort of overhyped, Hollywood-cliché-laden depiction that too often appears in mainstream media accounts of adult performers and models.

“About eight months ago, I decided to step up my game and began spending Tuesday through Thursday creating subscriber-only content to post on OnlyFans,” Divine explained at one point, noting that she brings in “five figures a month on each platform” and that during her best month to date, she “earned dollars shy of $80,000.”

Something you may have noticed about this year’s countdown list is a subject conspicuous in its absence: Not one of these posts was focused on COVID-19. While a couple posts referenced the pandemic, the context was in discussing ways the performers and companies involved were working to help support others and help them navigate the pandemic, rather than the impact of the virus and its spread. Hopefully, come December 2021, COVID-19 will have even less presence in our annual countdown than it does above.

Number 10 stock photo by Magda Ehlers from Pexels