It was fitting that the world’s largest streaming site of gay adult entertainment had no choice but to stream its big birthday bash. Earlier this week, gay VOD leader NakedSword put on a two-hour virtual party to reflect on two decades of success.
“It’s been such a weird year, and it’s interesting that we turned 20 in 2020 and all of this stuff happened—challenges for myself, for a lot of folks around me, for our company,” said CEO Tim Valenti as he opened the festivities on Sunday. “I think about what we thought about this year in terms of what we wanted to do moving forward, and the ideas that sort of burst out of everybody’s head—there’s just a lot of creative energy and excitement for the next 20 years.”
It’s a sign of the company’s reach and appeal that not only did the event draw many of the industry’s top names, but also appearances from Emmy winners, gay icons, a platinum-selling recording artist and even…a California state senator?! The show wasted no time pulling out the big guns, leading with a recorded message from comedian Kathy Griffin, who brought out the actual sword presented to her by the company.
“This sword is rather famous and significant in my life. I was involved in a little scandal where I took a photo with what looked like the president’s decapitated head,” she shared, relaying the story she chronicled in her special A Hell of a Story (which climaxes with references to the sword and her hosting gig at the 2007 GayVN Awards). “During the investigation, they asked me if I had any weapons—and I had to tell them how I go this one, where I got this one…and I was exonerated.”