NL The below is an email written by comedian Tina Kim, all opinions expressed are hers and do not reflect the views of this site. Her allegations of drug use and any other illegal behavior are to be considered a conclusion made by Kim. I’d love to hear from other people in attendance, from Jason, from Chris, from audience members any one at the JRL awards. Here is the website advertising the show http://www.jrlgayfilmawards.com/
OPinion/EDitorial by Tina Kim
Here is what went down.
On Sept 19th, the JRL Online adult film awards CHRISTOPHER THAIS asked me to perform at the awards.
We spoke and he confirmed my email that he was going to pay me on the night of the show to do a 10-20 set at the awards.
Then on Sept 17th a person named Albert sends me an email asking me for my address which they already had saying he will Fed Ex me tickets to the show a ticket for me and a ticket for my guest. Never received it.
On Saturday Sept 18th, I was at a marathon and got home around 4 PM and received an email from Albert saying please be at soundcheck today at 5:30 PM. If you have any questions I can be reached only Monday through Friday. From this email alone I could tell there was some serious morons running this. Obviously I could not make it since I had another show Sat night and I sent an email letting them know I’ll be there Sunday early for soundcheck.
On SUN SEPT 19th the night of the show I arrived at the location by 5:30 PM to do a soundcheck, which takes two minutes. At the venue, the people there were very confused. Thus one man called Chris and gave me the phone. I asked Chris I am here to do a soundcheck and so is there a place for me to sit before the show starts at 8:00 PM, such as a green room or an area for me? Chris replies, “This isn’t the Grammy’s.” At that point I said, well I am here early for a soundcheck and you don’t have a place for me to sit? Then he goes why don’t’ you just leave and come back when the show starts at 7:30 PM.
Then I left with my guest. We had dinner and went back to Catch One which is in the ghetto of LA. We get to the door and they would not let us in because we do not have tickets. So then I ask someone to find someone associated with the show. Then a nice person named Rudy comes over and goes you guys can go in. We go in and then Rudy tells us there is a vip waiting room. My guest and I sit there. Then Chris comes into the room and goes, can you go on stage now and let people know we are starting the show? I told him no. That was not our agreement. I was asked to do stand up for 10-20 minutes during the show. No one told me I had to go up and warm up the crowd. Then Chris goes, okay don’t do it. Then he shows me the itinerary for the show and says you go up in the middle. I said will someone introduce me so that I know when to go on? He said yes.
Then my guest and I walked into the room where they were doing the awards show and Chris did not even have a seat for my guest and I. So I asked him where are we supposed to sit? He goes um, go sit next to the stage on the side chairs against the wall.
So my guest and I sat there from 8 PM to 9:45 PM.
At the beginning of the show there were probably 75 people in the audience.
At the start of the show Jason Sechrest came out and sang a Lady GaGa song and then complained about what crap the show is and that he will not be going back up on stage to announce all the awards and he through off the stage and onto the audience floor and walked off the stage.
Then I believe Chris was the announcer and he announces next we have whoever it was go up and read the awards for some award and the person who was supposed to announce it recieves the wrong envelope and he throws a fit and throws the second mic onto the floor and runs backstage and you hear all this yelling and then there is no one on stage.
First of all the people behind the curtain had no idea which envelope was which and which award goes where. Common sense seems like they should have had the awards in the back all lined up in the right order with the right envelope.
So then Jason comes back on stage and goes, don’t expect me to come up here and read all the awards and he says a few more things.
Then a video goes on about safe sex.
Then the first person who was supposed to read the first awards gets back on stage and goes, “This is bullshit the video was supposed to go on and then I was supposed to go up” He then storms out of the show.
½ of the audience leaves.
Then two gay guys from the audience jump onstage and go behind the curtain and bring out a bunch of envelopes and just start reading nominees, and only two of the winners actually showed up to grab their award and some even had a friend go up and say he is too embarassed to get this award so I’m getting it for him.
Then another patron from the audience goes up on stage, starts smoking a cigarette and curses it up and goes okay, I’ll just read some more and hold all the awards.
At this point I just sat there with my guest going Chris should come up to me and let me know what’s going on. If he didn’t want me to go on, he needs to tell me instead of having me wait here.
By 9:45 most of the audience left and a couple porn guys were on stage with their shirt off getting wasted just reading off more nominees.
At that point I found Chris in the back who stopped doing the announcement 10 minutes into the show and I said, “Chris I’ve been waiting where you told me to. When am I supposed to go on?”
Chris replies, “This is a disaster. You can’t go on.” Then he walks away.
I stood there and then the sound person from the show goes, Tina you better get your money! Then three gays that were still at the show were saying, Tina we were waiting for you to go on but he told you not to, so get your money.
So I looked around for Chris and saw him and went up to him again with my guest and said, “Chris can I get my money now?”
CHRIS SNAPS, “What the hell? No I’m not going to pay you. You didn’t do anything.”
I replied, “We have a contract and I was here the whole time waiting to go on and this is not my fault.”
CHRIS then barks, “You weren’t even at rehearsal. I am not going to pay you.”
Then my guest goes, “Hey wait a minute if you weren’t going to pay Tina because she wasn’t at rehearsal yesterday you should have told her immediately today or called her yesterday. Also what kind of place asks someone the day before a show in email to come to rehearsal. She doesn’t need to be there.”
CHRIS THEN shouts to my guest, “Who the fuck are you? I am talking to Tina.”
Then I said to Chris this is my manager, guest, and witness.
CHRIS ignores my guest and says to me, “Tina I am not going to pay you. You didn’t do anything.
THEN I said, “I don’t want to argue about this. We had a contract and I was here and I sat where you asked me to and if you don’t pay me, then I guess I will have to sue you in small claims.”
THEN CHRIS WALKS AWAY and tells security to kick us out.
So security comes up to me and my guest and pushes us to the exit.
As I was leaving I saw Jason and I asked him if I could talk to him and Chris tells Jason DO NOT TALK TO HER so Jason gives me this look like sorry, I can’t talk to you because I need to be around Chris so Chris can pay me.
At this point there was only 4 people in the audience and more people on the stage.
This was a disaster. CHRIS did not know what he was doing and had no thought behind putting on an awards show. There was no order, stage manager, assistants, etc. This was like a production lead by a Gay coked out bitch who barely made it through elementary school.
If Chris came up to me 15 minutes after the show and said Tina I am so sorry about all this, I know it’s a lot but can I not pay you and you don’t have to do stand up and you can just leave? I would have been cool with that.
Or even half way through the show if Chris came up to me and said, Tina, I’m so sorry about all this. I appreciate your time and would it be okay if you don’t do stand up and I’ll still pay you? At this point I would have even said sure, just give me half and felt bad for him.
HOWEVER he deserved what happened at the awards show. He is one unprofessional coked up asshole. It all reflects on who he is, a straight up liar.
He basically ran away from me and didn’t have the guts to talk to me.
The moment I went up to him at the end of the show, he should have immeditately said, “Tina I am so sorry, thank you for sticking it out and being such a professional. I feel real bad that I never announced you to go on stage, but I will still pay you for your time.”
THAT NEVER HAPPENED!
I gave this bitch the benefit of the doubt but should have stayed with my instincts when I thought he was shady. He even called me to ask him to find him a director and when I found one for him, my director contact told me Chris was shocked at how much it would cost and never called my director contact back.
So that means Chris didn’t have a stage manager, a grip, a director, or a producer. Chris didn’t even have programs for anyone at the show, nor did they even have water or food on the tables. You had to go to the bar and buy your own drinks and sit on folding chairs.
IT WAS A GHETTO PRODUCTION from top to bottom.
I will be suing him in small claims. I have a contract verified in his email and the flyer and press release they sent out saying that I am performing on the show. It was their negligence and I was there and they never called me up, so they must pay me my fee. That was a long time for me to sit there through the nonsense. I was professional enough to wait for them to call me to that stage while the rest of the gays, yelled, didn’t go on stage, through the mic on the ground, and had fights backstage and in the audience.
IT WAS A TOTAL DISASTER and anyone who was there knows not to associate with CHRIS and the JRL anymore.