Adult entertainer August Ames has been found dead in California, days after she got into trouble on the Internet about her comments on co-starring with a person who does gay porn. Her death was confirmed by the Ventura County Medical Examiner's Office, who revealed on Wednesday that she died of asphyxia due to hanging.
Ames was in the midst of controversy a few days ago after passing derogatory comments about gay porn workers on her Twitter handle, after she dropped out of a project because her co-star had worked in gay porn before.
whichever (lady) performer is replacing me tomorrow for @EroticaXNews , you’re shooting with a guy who has shot gay porn, just to let cha know. BS is all I can say??♀️ Do agents really not care about who they’re representing? #ladirect I do my homework for my body?✏️?
— August Ames (@AugustAmesxxx) December 3, 2017
Ames' tweet triggered huge controversy as many people started trolling her for being homophobic. She, however, defended her stance, claiming that she liked girls and her comment was about the freedom to decide about her own body. After a barrage of criticism and abuse, she posted an ominous tweet, which turned out to be her last.
fuck y’all
— August Ames (@AugustAmesxxx) December 5, 2017
Ames had claimed that her reaction was not due to homophobia but she cared about her safety. To this, many Twitter users pointed out that gay-porn workers are also tested by the same agencies that test heterosexual-porn workers. However, she refused to apologize for her statements, saying that she does not know what these actors do in their real life.
I don’t have anything to apologize for! Apologizing for taking extra steps to ensue that my body stays safe? Fuck you guys attacking me when none of my intentions were malicious. I fucking love the gay community! What the fuck ever! I CHOOSE who I have inside my body. No hate. https://t.co/7dSbq27K2F
— August Ames (@AugustAmesxxx) December 4, 2017
“Choose who YOU want to work with”
— August Ames (@AugustAmesxxx) December 4, 2017
“Don’t do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable”
“Share your thoughts”
Hmm. Well, I did all three, and twitter took a dump on me??♀️
How am I homophobic if I myself am attracted to women? Not wanting to have sex with gay men is not homophobic; they don’t want to have sex with me either? so byeeeee
— August Ames (@AugustAmesxxx) December 3, 2017
Kevin Moore, the deceased's husband, told AVN that Ames was "the kindest person I ever knew and she meant the world to me." He also requested for privacy during this difficult time.
Officials do not suspect foul play as she had reportedly suffered from depression for a long time, which led her to possibly take her own life.
Her death has prompted many heartfelt condolence messages on social media by her acquaintances and co-workers, who are all in praise for her. People are now attributing her death to the cyberbullying she received in the past few days.
Five days later, she committed suicide after a series of web attacks on her. RIP #AugustAmes pic.twitter.com/68pgG3GOd5
— Stephen (@LogicOverJunk) December 6, 2017
Suicide is real. Be wise with your words.
— Morgan Rockwell (@NODEfather) December 6, 2017
Saying things can cause people to kill themselves.
Responsibility is relative & is bound in equality.
Be kind to everyone online & in person as you don't know who is on the brink of taking their own life... #RIP #AugustAmes
Twitter once again proving its mob mentality and extreme bullying tactics.
— Lucidia (@DGTinfoilhat) December 6, 2017
Her blood is on your hands you self proclaimed "virtuous" assholes. #augustames
I would like to point out the incredible amount of attacks that were made on me by the lgbt community when I voiced my opinion on a trans woman being in Playboy. I received death threats against me and my daughter. This went on for days. This mob mentality must end. #augustames
— Jenna Jameson (@jennajameson) December 7, 2017
More I read into what happened to August Ames, the angrier I get. The online witch hunts have to stop. You can disagree with people but sending thousands of angry people at one person has killed someone. I'm truly disappointed with the people who engaged in this.
— Empress Galina (@GallyTurbo) December 7, 2017
August Ames has appeared in more than 270 adult films and worked with all major studios. She had also won AVN awards twice and was nominated for the Female Performer of the Year award at the 2018 AVN Awards, to be held in January 2018.