After 20 years in the biz, Wendy Williams has mastered the art of adaptation. While some of the biggest stars have come and gone, this Southern Belle has fought for every loyal fan, and has the longevity to show for it. We sat down with Wendy for an intimate interview, where we discussed her businesses, her confidence, and what we can expect from her in the third decade of her career!
JH: So the last time we interviewed you was way back in 2017. What’s new for you since then?
WW: The biggest, greatest thing is I’m still going. In February it’ll be 19 years in the adult industry. That’s kind of crazy. I guess the biggest thing that has changed is how performers, including myself, are making money due to COVID and fan platforms like JustForFans, OnlyFans, ManyVids, Modelhub, etc. With all these avenues now, the way we make money as independent artists is a little easier, but there’s so many people on those platforms you’re literally fighting for those subscriptions. So just like I have for the last almost two decades, I’m just evolving with the way the adult industry is evolving, with social media platforms and using those to make money.
Trans porn has also changed a lot in the past couple years, especially in terms of representation. What are some of the positive changes that you’ve noticed?
Yes. It definitely changed for the better real slowly, but still nonetheless, it’s progress. The biggest thing, and I think we talked about this four years ago, is representation. I think having studios and directors and producers using trans models not as just a fetish or taboo image, and just using them as a model, has definitely changed. You see that happening with companies like Wicked, Evil Angel, Devil’s Film… I think the biggest progress has been fellow trans models being represented more, and the explosion of trans men. How amazing is it that you see so many trans guys now? When I started, it was Buck Angel; he was like the unicorn of trans guys. And now you see so many trans guys. I just think that the genre has just grown, and I think that’s mainly because there’s just so many more people. There’s a variety of trans models now compared to even five years ago.
How would you like to see things continue to change and evolve?
I think that many of us are letting companies off easy. So they give us a crumb, and then a few models grab that crumb and they’re like, “Oh, look, they’re using trans models.” No, stop, they’re really not. Trans porn is still one of the best-selling niches there is. So let’s be serious and know that they’re using that as a way to make money, which is what we’re all trying to do. So I think big models like Aubrey Kate and Natalie Mars, etcetera, need to use their platform to hold companies accountable for using models more.
Webcam companies need to have ambassadors. We need to continue seeing us, not just as faces, but even behind the camera: producing, sales managers, ambassadors, contract stars, directors. We just need to see more of it. And as big as the niche is, we only have one or two getting a piece of the pie. It still doesn’t mean the pie is good, it just means both pieces are being eaten. So I’d love to see representation go even further in front of the camera and behind the camera. And bigger companies like Pornhub, etcetera, reaching out to trans models and using them to present their own category. It’s nice to have genetically born females directing our porn, but why can’t we direct our own? Why can’t companies hire trans models to direct their own? I just think those are some of the things that we need to hold companies accountable to.
2020 has been a crazy year. How have you been coping?
Well, I own a LGBT bar in Cookeville, Tennessee, and it’s been hit really hard. It’s a rural area. And first, in March, it was hit with a tornado.
Oh, no!
And then COVID happened, and so it shut down til June, and there just weren’t many resources. Thank goodness, with a GoFundMe, and community, and performers like Jessica Drake and Steven Grooby, and the owner of JustForFans, Dominic, people like that really contributed and helped me keep my business. It’s really slow right now, and I understand why; people are not going out as much and spending as much money. From a business standpoint, I’ve worked my entire life to save up and buy a property and own a bar, and it’s just the last year has been… I’ve really had to increase my adult side in order to take care of my business. And I thought at this age [laughs] that I would be able to slow down, but I’m actually producing just as much self-produced content now than I ever did in my heyday because I have to make sure that my business can stay open because of COVID and the time of year it is. So I guess that’s been the hardest thing this year.
The last time we interviewed you, you were a little frustrated with your dating life. Have you found anybody special since then?
Well, I guess, I’ve dated on and off, but I’m off the idea of needing to have to have someone. I’m very content having the boy toys that I have. And I’m so focused on myself right now, everything else is a distraction. Right now I’m focusing on maintaining my physical and mental health, and just not worrying about it. I’ll date here and there, but if someone comes along, great. But I think I’m very content of just being a single cougar, out here having fun when I want to, and not having to answer to anybody or have any extra… What’s the word that I’d use? Any extra things to distract me from what I’m working on.
I love that. What do you look for in a boy toy?
I am very dominant, so I have to find a guy that is sexually versatile, but more on the submissive side, and someone that has an open mind to the industry that I’ve been a part of for decades. That doesn’t mean that I have to have someone that constantly has to be filmed. And I think one of the biggest things all performers can talk about is, that any time we have sex now we feel like there should be a phone or a camera going, and that’s the age we’re in. If you have a good time and it’s off-camera, you’re thinking, “Oh my God, I should have recorded that. It would have been perfect.” I am guilty of that. I never want a guy that I’m playing with, full-time or part-time, to think that the only time I do it is on camera, because 90% of the time it’s not. And I’m not looking for one person. I like to have multiple options, and I like for them to have multiple options. And I’m not bisexual myself, but I like guys that are bisexual, that are into other guys; I enjoy that. So I think that’s some of the things that I’m looking for.
What would your fans be surprised to know about you?
After almost 20 years I don’t think that there’s anything that they would be surprised about. I’ve lived my personal and professional life in the open for so long. I think people are always surprised when I say that I’m actually quite shy. And I think all performers have this, but I have major insecurities. Even after all this time, I’m still paranoid about my weight, about my voice, what people think of me. But when you’re in an industry where you’re constantly judged on those things, it’s always in the back of your mind.
And as you get older, especially in the trans genre, the industry has the tendency to forget about you. They get younger, and get prettier, and they get more feminine, and then you’re still sitting there competing for a piece of that pie that we always talk about. And so my insecurities are really, really strong. I talk about it often, ’cause mental health is something that you ignore in the industry. Fans don’t understand how taxing it is to be constantly on, and it is. It’s like we’re constantly on, and when you have that moment where you’re not on, your brain is still trying to focus everything going on. So I think my fans, I talk about it a lot, but I don’t think that they understand how severe it can be. And I’m sure other models can relate to that.
Yeah. I think any woman can relate to that.
Right. [chuckle]
What makes you feel sexy?
I think the hyper-femininity of being dolled up. For me, it’s like having my nails done and having a full face of makeup and sexy lingerie, that’s what makes me feel pretty. I don’t get to do it as much as I want to. When I started, everything was hyper-feminine. It was eyelashes and nails and makeup, and big hair and lingerie and heels. And then as time has went on, the girl-next-door became okay. And then models started shooting their own content, and they didn’t want to be in makeup. So they would shoot it without makeup, or they would shoot it in their gym clothes, or they would shoot it in their everyday clothes. Well, I always freaked out about that because I came from an era of porn stars. And over time, you get lazy because you’re trying to shoot content, you’re trying to film it.
So when I get a moment when I can get dolled up from head to toe, that’s when I feel the sexiest. But I just did a poll on my OnlyFans, and said, “When I do solos, what do you want to see?” And the options were high glamour, natural, and then cosplay. Overwhelmingly, eight to ten, it was natural. Because I’ve battled with weight issues, I’m always in a waist trainer or a corset or a body-stocking. Very rarely do I show myself completely naked. And in 20 years, there’s a handful of those things out there. That’s because I have a insecurity of that. But it’s weird to me that they want to see that and they don’t understand I don’t feel sexy like that. I don’t feel sexy, but they enjoy it, and they’re the ones that are paying for it. I try my best not to look at myself. I literally get through those edits as quickly as possible, and I never go back to those things because I don’t feel sexy in those things.
Yeah, it’s so strange how sometimes the things that we dislike most about ourselves, are precisely the things that people love about us.
Right? And you wouldn’t think about it. Even if I have makeup on and I don’t have eyelashes on in a picture, I will obsess over that for weeks. No one else is obsessing over it, but I literally am. Or my nails are not done, like during COVID, I wear gloves, and then the fans will be like, “Why are you wearing gloves so much?” I’m like, “Because my nails are not done.” And they’re like, “I didn’t even notice.” “Yeah, but I did.” [laughter]
Is there anybody that you haven’t worked with yet that you would like to film with?
There is. I live in Tennessee, not in Vegas or LA or in the areas that shoot. I’m the old, old gal now on the scene [laughter], so there’s all this new talent. I don’t want to fetishize this, but I have been finding myself very drawn toward trans men. I had someone say, “Oh, you’re fetishizing them just like guys do you.” And I’m like, “No, no, no. There’s a difference between being attracted to and want to experiment with.” I believe that when people are just using you as an experiment, they’re fetishizing you. A vagina is not something that I’ve been into, it’s just not what my sexual preference is, but lately there are several trans men that I just, when I see their content on my feed or I subscribe to one of their fan platforms, I’m just… like, yeah!
There’s a guy by the name of Logan Knight from Arizona. When I tell you he is oh, fine, fine, fine. I still want to work with Pierce Paris really bad, I think because of his personality. If you don’t follow him on Twitter, you have to.
Obviously, he’s a very good-looking guy with a huge cock and that’s great and everything, but his personality… Just to be goofy and do whatever he wants is such a huge turn-on to me. I’m just open. There’s just a lot of new talent out there. There’s a lot of content creators, not even studio guys, that I see on there, and I’m just like, “You know what, these guys would be fun.” Smash Thompson from Vegas, and then Calhoun Sawyer. There’s a lot of new guys out there, so if any of them read this interview, I’m ready!
What can your fans expect to see from you in 2021?
Well, hopefully COVID lets up; that way that we can do more. Having the talent COVID tested, and then on top of that, having to have STD panels and stuff has definitely limited the talent pool of what you can and can’t do, and take the chance of shooting and not taking the chance of shooting. But in 2021, I’m teaming up with Josh Stone, who’s the director of Trans500 and Big Booty TGirls, and we’re gonna shoot a showcase DVD. And I’ve not done a showcase DVD in many, many years, just because I really don’t shoot for companies a whole lot.
So we’re working on that, which is gonna have five scenes, an interview, a solo, a scene with a trans guy, and then a boy-girl TS scene, things that I’ve not done a whole lot in my career. I’ve topped and bottomed in 20 years, everyone’s seen that. But I’ve never done a DP, I haven’t shot with a genetically born female in 15 years. I’ve not done extreme fetish in a while. I just wanna do some things that I’ve not done yet, and then just have a showcase DVD. So I’m looking forward to that. And as soon as I can, I’ll be traveling to London, Dublin, and Glasgow next year. So I’ll be in those three cities for a minimum of a week at a time, so I’m gonna take a month to travel in Europe.
And then, the final thing is, is I thought that I was gonna be retired. I say this every two or three years, “I’m gonna retire,” but financially, that’s not an option at this point. But my goal is to step up my self-producing content. In my home, I have a finished basement, so I want to set up a little studio there for me. I’ve been wanting to direct for years, and this is the perfect time to do it. The equipment is getting cheaper, you can find it easier. Fans are more willing to help. And I think those are enough things to look forward to in 2021, ’cause we have no idea what’s gonna happen then.
What are your plans for the holidays?
Well, I am socially distancing. I live away from my family, about five hours. So we will just do a Zoom meeting and say hello and send our presents. For my bar, we are planning our New Year’s Eve bash. I’ve had to limit my capacity in order to socially distance, and everyone’s required to wear their mask into the bar; when they get to tables, they can take ’em off. All the tables are socially distanced, all my employees are wearing their masks and their gloves, and we’ve got sanitizer at all the stations. So I’m doing my part.
I know that a lot of people are like, “Oh, you shouldn’t be open,” but that’s not an option. Myself and my employees rely on that income. I can only follow the rules, socially distance, and make sure that the bar does. So we are going to go ahead and plan a big New Year’s Eve party, just with smaller numbers, and have a great drag show, and bring in 2021, and pray, and pray, to whatever deity or spirit or whatever you believe in, that 2021 is better than what we’ve had this year, ’cause I have to think it’s been rough on everyone.
How can your fans best support you?
They can continue to just be a member of my fan platforms. My OnlyFans, JustForFans, Modelhub. They can download my videos, on video-on-demand on HotMovies. For years, my entire catalogue was not on VOD, and it’s so big. So I just literally sent in my entire production catalogue of DVDs that were not on HotMovies. Vintage porn is extremely popular, especially for people that have never heard of someone. If they’re a new fan, then they wanna see some of my early stuff.
Things started back in 2003-2004, so they’ll be able to go back and look at my entire catalog and download it or buy minutes and go and view it. If they follow me on Twitter, I tweet constantly. So just grab a $5 subscription to a fan site, or go download one of my vintage scenes for $3.99 at HotMovies, or grab something from my Amazon wish list. I have all my lingerie and shoes and wigs and fun things on there. If financially, if you’re not able to, then just retweet something, or every once in a while just send me a message and say, “Hey, I enjoyed this.” I just think being visible and being part of it, whether it’s financially or not, just keeps your favorite performers in a good headspace.
Any final words for your fans at HotMovies.com?
I always say, and I know that it’s cliche, but I really do appreciate you. I’ve seen many performers across every genre coming down; not every model is going to be a Belladonna or a Jenna Jameson or a Lexington Steele. Only a handful of people are able to make a full-time career out of this. It’s hard. So I want to thank my fans for giving me a comfortable lifestyle. I have a roof over my head, I own a business, I’m blessed to be able to get in my little Honda every single day. I live a very minimal means, and I love that, and it’s because of having fans that over the years have continued to support me no matter what. So I will continue doing the best I can by them as long as they continue to support me.
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