Enrapturing Rapport
The creator of The L Word has a lot to account for. TV producer Ilene Chaiken had an idea for a website that was basically a Facebook for lesbians, but it never really took off because there were no takers. Two decades ago, this was a bad idea because of men pretending to be women. In today’s world, you can get facial recognition software and moderators to compare photos with the verification photo. The only downside would be if a man forced a woman to create an account so that he could take over, which is why couple accounts on FabSwingers and FetLife are to be treated with suspicion. Outside the world of sex sites, the only thing close to Alice Pieszecki’s “Our Chart” are lesbian pages on Instagram. Her surname reminds me of pie, which reminds me of Warrant’s 1990 album: Cherry Pie. This was released on September 11 whereas the film rating NC-17 was established on September 27. NC-17 replaced X because it was a way to distinguish films from p*rn.
An X can represent a kiss, a film rating or a pair of scissors. No matter how debased that Bai Ling appears to be in photos that I won’t post, she has surprisingly never appeared in a hardcore production (otherwise she would be listed on the IAFD). Her friend Nataliya Joy Prieto participated in a sex scene with Allie Haze for Emmanuelle’s Skin City (2012). As a Playboy Playmate, Deanna Brooks wasn’t uncomfortable being around naked women. The same thing applies to Hiromi Oshima, who was in two productions with Deanna: The Carlton Dance (a five minute music video in 2012) and Dealin’ with Idiots (a feature-length comedy in 2013).
Daniel Spink’s video is notable for featuring actresses who were already part of Bai Ling’s social circle - Summer Altice and Taryn Manning. Jeff Garlin’s film is also notable for featuring alike women - Nia Vardalos and Gina Gershon. As for the above blonde that Bai Ling stood next to, Mary Carey is an adult entertainer. Mary did a 2005 p*rno with an Oriental performer named Teanna Kai. Mary had already been photographed next to Bai Ling in June 2007 when it was Mary’s 27th birthday.
Maitland Ward used to be a legitimate actress before she turned to the dark side (the grass isn’t necessarily greener on the other side). In September 2022, she advertised her memoir: Rated X: How P* rn Liberated Me From Hollywood. Like how the X rating became NC-17, her memoir was retitled My Escape from Hollywood: Unapologetic, Unfiltered, and Unashamed. Kira Reed has a bigger book in her even though she was more on the softcore side of things but smutty enough to be relegated to the hardcore demographic.
Unlike Maitland Ward, Kira does not do cosplay at conventions. Bai Ling never appeared in a production with either actress. In the above photos, she attended the Burbank International Film Festival and a shiny shindig that benefited the Brent Shapiro Foundation. Maitland and Bai went on to attend the same December 2014 event - Avant Garde Magazine’s presentation of Couture Du Couture featuring the "Resentment.Run.Evil" fashion show by Jason Ryan. It was held at Unici Casa Gallery in Culver City.
You have to hand it to Ilene Chaiken for not casting p*rn stars in The L Word, even when you have erotic moments like Leisha Hailey licking the tushy of Rose Rollins. No matter how p*rn stars try to go legitimate like ex-gangsters, Ilene wasn’t going to have any of it. When Gina Lynn tried to go “straight” so to speak, it was The Sopranos in 2004. She produced and starred in a softcore film called Allure (2009). The above Lisa Cash was in this rare film. In her photo with Bai Ling, they were attending the premiere of Two De Force at the Linwood Dunn Theater in the Pickford Center for Motion Study. Neither actress was in this film. Bai’s penchant for wearing wigs reminds me of her attending conventions but not to the same degree as Maitland Ward, who has her cosplay shtick down-pat.
In the other photo, Bai Ling and Kelli Maroney attended the premiere of Exorcism at 60,000 Feet as part of Hollywood Horrorfest. This was held at Mayflower Club Inc. in North Hollywood. Unlike with Two De Force, both actresses had acted in the film whose premiere that they were attending. On Facebook, Kelli Maroney claimed that she celebrates gay pride every month. I figured that she was into women when I saw Scream Queen Hot Tub Party (1991). I’m reminded of David Chokachi explaining why there was so much sex during the making of the Baywatch series: “We’re on the beach, we’re naked, we’re around each other all day. It’s like sun and ocean, it triggers a lot of stuff.”
There is a British slang term for sex called getting your leg over. Looking at these photos, it’s fair to say that Bai Ling is what someone in the past would have called a tribade. When it comes to tribadism, there are more positions that can be done than standard scissoring. If you go to a site called Sex Info 101, there are so many positions that could be reconfigured for lesbians. As for Kimora Lee Simmons, she is what the Americans would call blasian. More specifically, she got her blackness from her father whereas her mother was a mixture of Japanese and Korean. Even on the L Chat forum, it is known than Kimora is bisexual. Her ex-husband, Russell Simmons, prefers bi women. Kimora hooked up and shackled up with Kisha Batista in 2002. She also hooked up with Tyra Banks.
About the above photo, Kimora and Bai Ling attended a Force of Nature concert for Tsunami Aid. Instead of being in California, they were at Stadium Putra in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Also present at the event was Jackie Chan. This is where I expose the hypocrisy of the man. He was okay with doing a romantic film (Gorgeous) with Hsu Chi despite her having a reputation for appearing in a Category III film (Sex & Zen II), but he had Carrie Ng dropped from the final cut of Thunderbolt (1995). Blu Cantrell is a bisexual who prefers the company of women. She had a long-term relationship with Michelle Rodriguez, but hooked up with Tommy Lee (who had his photo taken with Bai Ling in May 2004). In the above photo, Blu and Bai attended the third annual Sammy Sideout benefit at Playboy Mansion.
Brett Rossi and Bai Ling were seen leaving the Katsuya Restaurant in Los Angeles. Brett is a p*rn star who dated Charlie Sheen from 2013 to 2014. Ironically, I’ve not seen Charlie in a photo with Bai Ling despite his reputation for dating p*rn stars such as Ginger Lynn. Victoria Silvstedt and Bai hosted the 2005 World Music Awards at the Kodak Theatre. Victoria was a Playboy Playmate. In 2006, she kissed one of Bai’s friends on a French panel show called La Méthode Cauet. This friend was Carmen Electra. Victoria acted in a film with another of Bai’s friends i.e. Roselyn Sanchez in Boat Trip (2002). This segues into a relevant feature within the October 2005 issue of Los Angeles Magazine. On page 62, there appeared to be a sapphic link between Bai and Minnie Driver. They joined three women to attend the one year anniversary of Foam magazine at James’ Beach in Venice. James' Beach was a famous bar and restaurant known for its fish tacos and status as an LGBTQ+ community space.
As for which three women that Bai and Minnie joined, the most significant woman was a lesbian surfer named Keala Kennelly. Next up is actress/surfer Sanoe Lake, who acted with Michelle Rodriguez in Blue Crush (2002). The final woman was a surf champion named Lisa Andersen. On page 62 of Los Angeles Magazine, there was a photo of Sanoe, Keala and Juliette Marquis at the Foam gathering. Juliette stands out for previously playing a p*rn star in This Girl’s Life (2003) where she had a lesbian sex scene. Bi actress Rosario Dawson was in this film along with Michael Rapaport and James Woods. Let’s get back to Minnie Driver, that page featured a photo of her looking dreamy-eyed towards a woman whose hand that she was holding. The woman was captioned as Karri Eick but her IMDB page spells her forename as Carrie. Her sole credit was working as a marine consultant on Beautiful Wave (a 2011 film starring Aimee Teegarden).
Tiffany Shepis is definitely into women. She had lesbian sex scenes in Dorm of the Dead (2006), Hoodoo for Voodoo (2006) and Nympha (2007). She even kissed Shannon Elizabeth in Night of the Demons (2009). Tiffany also played a lesbian in Trade In (2009). She has nothing to do with Bai Ling’s The Key (2014) yet she attended the above premiere. As for Jin N. Tonic, she is a bisexual who acted with Bai in Exorcism at 60,000 Feet (2019). Jin kissed Veronica Farren in Amityville Vampire (2021), and has done many nude photo shoots (especially with women). In the above photo, she looks like Virginia Madsen.
In the July 20, 2004 issue of a gay magazine called The Advocate, it was reported that Bai was writing a memoir about her adolescent experiences in China’s strict People’s Liberation Army in Tibet, which included clandestine same-sex romances. That book remains unpublished. Bai admitted to learning much about sexuality from Sandra Bernhard, her bisexual castmate in Somewhere in the City (1998). Bai claimed: “She was very seductive with me, very flirtatious. I was a little afraid of and intrigued by her.”
I already covered the event with Traci in my article titled Urge to Merge. As for Julia, she is a British film-maker who was a friend of Elizabeth Hurley. She started out as an actress named Octavia Verdin. Julia was photographed at the Gridlock party which I had already covered in Urge to Merge. One of Julia’s friends is a lesbian named Honey Labrador. Another of her friends is Jane Seymour. All three women were seen at the same event i.e. Smashbox Studios hosted the Mercedes-Benz Fall collection as part of L.A. Fashion Week. It happened on March 17, 2005. Given the nature of Bai Ling’s line of work, it’s fascinating that Julia is dedicated to making a difference with films about sex trafficking. First, there was Lost Girls: Angie’s Story (2020) then there was Maya (2023).