AVN has banned adult film star Ron Jeremy from attending its expo and awards this year at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
Organizers for the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo and Awards, which opened its doors on Wednesday and will end Saturday, made the decision in November 2017, following a Rolling Stone report that detailed allegations of sexual assault against Jeremy, Brian Gross, the event’s publicist, told HuffPost. News that the adult film industry news site was banning Jeremy from its event was first reported Wednesday by The Blast.
In the Rolling Stone report, Jeremy denied raping anyone and said all “serious allegations” had been investigated by police and dismissed.
“As for the charges of Groping, I say yes, I AM A GROPER,” Jeremy told the outlet. “And by groper, I mean I get paid to show up to these shows, events, and photo shoots and touch the people and they touch me.”
Jeremy’s admission of sexual misconduct violated the event’s “zero tolerance harassment policy,” which has been in effect since Jan. 1, 2017, Gross said.
The code of conduct must be signed by all of the event’s attendees and prohibits “disrespectful and non-consensual behavior,” including physical assault, stalking and any unwelcome physical contact.
The policy is in place “to protect everyone in attendance ― male and female ― who attend the show,” Gross said. “It’s just important to create an environment for everyone to feel safe.”
In a statement to HuffPost, Jeremy said he hadn’t planned on attending this year’s awards anyway.
“I was not planning on attending the AVN’s this year as I’m filming 2 movies and performing stand up comedy all week,” Jeremy said in the statement. “All serious allegations are false. The truth with [sic] come out soon.”
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