LOS ANGELES – The partners in a new gay news-and-gossip site intend their project to fill a hole they perceive in the existing market: balanced coverage that victimizes no one.
Nica Noelle, a director of gay porn who heads the Icon Male studio, and Sean Tompkins, owner of adult industry blog The Real Porn Wikileaks (aka TRPWL), banded together to found Pass the Tea. Though the site is in its infancy and contained little more than press releases on launch day, the pair say original articles and interviews with gay performers lie on the horizon.
“There are a lot of good bloggers in gay porn, but I also saw a void,” Noelle, who identifies as bisexual, said. “There are blogs that consist mostly of press releases, and then there are tabloid blogs that get traffic by humiliating performers and creating scandals. I saw a need for a site that doesn’t shy away from covering scandal, but also gives the performers a voice and maintains some basic journalistic standards.”
At launch, the site included Q&As with gay performers Brandon Wilde, Billy Santoro and Jaxton Wheeler. In addition, a “roundup” presents seven performers’ takes on the “gay for pay” controversy.
Although Noelle said Icon Male’s parent company, Mile High Media, is “not involved with” the new website, a special tab on the home page presents Icon Male news. Nevertheless, according to Noelle, “Icon Male will be treated the same way as any other studio. That’s why we staff several writers, so there’s no conflict of interest with stories I might not feel comfortable investigating or writing.
“I have direct access to countless performers and gay porn fans,” she added. “I also hear all the gossip, so it will be fun to investigate stories and present an unbiased view. I was a magazine writer before I came to porn, and I’ve continued doing freelance journalism throughout my directing career. So this is a cool way for me to bring my two careers together.”
Tompkins — who is straight and no stranger to unflattering online posts (here, here and here are a few of many examples) — said while Noelle has been attending to the performance side of the industry, he’s been watching news websites and other blogs.
“The most prominent gay blogs right now seem very anti-industry,” he said. “Pass the Tea won’t be bashing the industry or performers for the sake of web hits. When we run an editorial, we’ll say it’s an editorial. Opinion pieces and news items are two different things.”
He also said he thinks he and Noelle make a good team.
“I liked the idea of doing this with Nica because we’re so different,” said Tompkins. “She’s a Democrat; I’m not. She’s a female; I’m a guy. We don’t agree on a lot of things, but that’s good because we kind of rein each other in.”
Noelle made similar comments.
“I have so much respect for Sean,” she said. “He’s an adult industry friend, but he’s also a badass. You can’t control or intimidate him, period. I think our combined skills and perspectives will make for a very unique site.”
