I just got news of something that really pisses me off on a personal level, as well as a moral one. Let me start this blog by saying this is solely my opinon and does not or should not reflect my employers, or anyone else associated with this URL.
My friend Brian Gross of BSG Public Relations, uses a little service that many publicists in various industries use called Constant Contact, to facilitate the distribution of his press releases via e-mail. Now mind you, their service is far from cheap. but when your press list is as large as someone’s like Brian’s is, it’s kind of a necessary evil. The larger your list, the more expensive it is, so on and so forth.
In Brian’s busy schedule he volunteers his time, like I do, to support a charity called b.a.b.e.: breast awareness benefits everyone. I lost my mother, grandmother, aunts, etc. to breast cancer, and Marcia Hrichison’s (she’s a breast cancer survivor) non-profit charity raises money to aid in awareness and early detection of the horrible disease to help save the lives of women. Brian is the pro-bono publicist for b.a.b.e., as well as serving on their board of advisors, as I also do. We both have put countless hours into events, fund raising efforts, etc. for this charity because it is an amazing cause and insidious disease we both want to see eradicated from the planet.
Countless adult stars have joined us over the years such as Taylor Wane, Tera Patrick, Jesse Jane, Stormy Daniels, Joanna Angel, Jenna Haze, Nautica Thorn, Sunny Lane, Gina Lynn, Katie Morgan, just to name but a few. Various companies have lended both their personal and financial resources in support of b.a.b.e. such as Paul Fishbein and AVN, HotMovies.com, Marci Hirsch and Vivid, Samantha Lewis and Adella at Digital Playground, Steve O. at Wicked Pictures, Kim at Pink Visual, Atlas Multimedia, Booble, WantedList, Katy at Adam and Eve, the late Pam Anderson and Metro, and the list goes on and on there, too. Hell, even major corporate brands and mainstream stars have lent their support one way or another such as A.J. from the Backstreet Boys, Evan Seinfeld, Coolio, Chastity Bono, the Grammy Awards, Gene Simmons, Sebastian Bach, Jason Bonham, Gibson Guitars, Ivan Kane’s 40 Deuce Club, and the list continues there as well.
I personally became involved with the charity shortly after my mother passed away from breast cancer and “mainstream” charities wouldn’t take money I could raise through the adult community because of its source, but that’s a whole other story and you get the point, so now back to this story…
So Brian uses Constant Contact, and they contact him today informing him that several images in his library are “offensive” and/or “inappropriate” to them, and they must be deleted right away or they will suspend or cancel his account. Now mind you, I’ve been getting these releases with said images for years and I have to constantly search my library or ask Brian for something more offensive. I know their threats aren’t veiled. They have canceled other accounts such as April Storm’s in the past and warned me about using them because of my posts during my “trial” period, and when that happens, it’s a major pain the ass setting up your list once again with another service.
So Brian is on the phone with their customer service sow, who is going through his image library one by one. She gets to the b.a.b.e. logo you see on top of this post, and tells him that this must be deleted as well, as it’s offensive. It’s a fuckin’ cartoon of Taylor Wane in a bikini. So they are essentially saying that if Touchstone Pictures or Walt Disney put out a press release with them touting some kind of Who Framed Roger Rabbit thing with an image of Jessica Rabbit, that would be offensive? It’s basically the same type of imagery. Wait, it’s even less — we don’t even get to see Taylor’s cute little ass here! So how is it offensive? Because a publicist who also works for porn companies has it? Because it’s in a media library with a Joanna Angel picture or Pink Visual logo?
Brian tried explaining to them this was a charity, what they do and that this is their logo. What is he supposed to use now? They don’t care. It’s offensive. It must be deleted.
You know what’s offensive to me? Constant Contact. Delete them. Go fuck yourselves! Is that offensive? I think not. 
I can’t post their email address here, but they’re pretty easy to find on the web. Feel free to drop them a line and let them know what offensive is. And while you’re sending emails, drop b.a.b.e. a line or visit their donation page and ask what you can do to help. You can also visit them on their MySpace page.
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