LOS ANGELES — Outside the historic Hollywood Palladium on Friday, a huge line of fans lined Sunset Boulevard, eagerly awaiting the opening of the 2026 X3 Expo and their big chance to meet the cream of the crop of adult stars.
Spectators poured into the Palladium with palpable excitement as the fifth annual edition of X3 officially got underway. Fans’ eyes lit up as they crossed the threshold of the iconic venue to kick off one of the most anticipated weekends on the adult calendar. Performers and fans mingled freely in the space, sharing the kind of once-a-year energy that defines X3: a convergence of anticipation, admiration and celebration.
That energy reached its crescendo as the X3 All-Stars took center stage for the official ribbon-cutting ceremony, signaling the start of the event. Dressed in eye-catching red lingerie and matching stiletto boots, Violet Brandani, Anna Claire Clouds, Lulu Chu, Cherie DeVille, Aubrey Kate, Romi Rain, Hailey Rose and Luna Star stepped into the spotlight as fans erupted with cheers.
With a sultry shimmy, reigning XMAs Female Performer of the Year Clouds shouted, “Welcome to the X3 Expo!” and cut the ribbon as her fellow All-Stars cheered behind her. The ceremony set the festive tone for a weekend fueled by star power, fan devotion and the unmistakable thrill of X3.
On the show floor, the vibe was cheerful and upbeat as high-fiving fans lined up to meet and greet their favorite adult superstars, including two-time XMAs winner Blake Blossom, who exclaimed, “It’s only been 45 minutes, and I already have a line!”
Blossom gushed about how much she appreciates the time, effort and expense that many of her fans undertake just to meet her, and recalled one particular fan with a long white beard who showed up dressed as Santa Claus a few years back.
“He’s been a good friend of mine for the last four years, and he even sends me pictures of his Halloween decorations,” said Blossom. “It’s cute.”
She also shared some details about her upcoming projects.
“I’ve been doing a lot of work for Romero and Parasited, and we have a really big project that’s not porn,” she told XBIZ. “It’s actually a mainstream project that we’re going to be working on, because you know me — I like to venture into different things. Outside of that, there’s a game from Vanilla Gaming Company that I’m involved with, and it’s finally launching on Steam this month. You can play as me, as a character, and it’s my voice, and I’m topless and doing crazy stuff! I’m hoping to create a lot of content with it, like making little videos.”
Other stars working the floor spoke about how much fun they always have at X3.
Enthused Sophia Locke, “I absolutely love convention season. It’s really fun to meet the fans. I just love that they keep coming out to see me. I’m terrible with faces, so I’m also proud of myself for remembering everyone.”
Added Cubbi Thompson, “I love seeing their faces and hearing their stories, and having them tell me which video of mine they fell in love with. Every year, it keeps getting bigger and bigger. I’m always amazed that people still want to see me!”
Bright, expansive and impossible to miss, the CAM4 booth stood out on the X3 Expo floor as a hub of energy and connection. Bathed in crisp white light, the space stayed busy throughout the day. Fans flocked not just for conversation, but for the booth’s coveted swag, including mini light-up CAM4 cooling fans — which soon became a must-have as the heat built inside the venue.
For CAM4 Director of Business Development Andra Chirnogeanu, the moment was about more than visibility; it was about community.
“We’ve been with X3 since it started,” she said. “I love feeling the vibe of the people, the customers and the users who come in and see our wonderful team at CAM4. The booth is absolutely awesome, and the positioning is great! So thank you to Ashley here, who runs the content and marketing department for CAM4. Bless your heart, I love you forever. If she didn’t have a husband, I’d marry her!”
Meanwhile, the Fleshlight booth featured a wall with rows of the company’s signature branded sleeves, molded from the anatomy of some of the biggest names in the game, including Vanna Bardot, Ana Foxxx, Kazumi and Emma Magnolia, among many others.
Joe, Fleshlight’s marketing manager, told XBIZ, “We call it the ‘Poke Wall.’ We have some of our sample models up high on the wall, and customers and fans are coming over to stick their fingers inside to feel the texture.”
Just around the corner, Foxxx herself spoke about how she was using her time on the X3 floor.
“I’m honestly trying to find who I want to fuck for the rest of the year,” she laughed. “I’m trying to fill up my schedule. Plus, it’s always nice to see my fans come back year after year.
“And nice to know that they’re not too tired of my pussy!” added the six-time XMAs winner and Fleshlight model.
In the screening room, Parasited showed off one of its biggest titles from last year: “Parasite Queen.”
Star Little Puck introduced the film alongside director Ricky Greenwood. The feature represents a strong showcase for Puck, who plays host to a parasite that enters her mouth and burrows into her brain. She emerges from a cocoon covered in goo, with evil, white eyes that quickly set their sights on her first victim: janitor Tommy Pistol.
Joining Puck and Greenwood were cast members Hailey Rose, Melody Marks and Blake Blossom, the latter of whom joined Greenwood for the post-screening Q&A.
The feature was shot last December, and Greenwood recounted how he and his loyal crew recreated a school inside their studio, complete with red and blue lockers.
“This version is the short version,” the director explained. “If you want to see the full version, you can go watch it on Parasited.com with all the crazy sex, but this version is softcore, unfortunately, so there will be a little bit of nudity but no real sex.”
Greenwood pointed to Robert Rodriguez’s 1998 sci-fi movie “The Faculty” as one of his inspirations.
“I rewatched it as soon as I received the script for ‘Parasite Queen,’ and you can see some of that movie in mine,” he said.
Blossom recalled initially being apprehensive about being put inside a huge cocoon, along with lots of slime. Since the signature Parasited slime occasionally gets into performers’ mouths, Greenwood agreed to a taste of his own medicine and took a shot of the goo — which he promptly spat out because of its tapioca-like texture.
Little Puck recalled that the cocoon was about three inches too small for her.
“So I’m kind of hunched over the entire time,” she said. “There was a foot of slime and sweat that I was standing in — it was so wet. I also had nails on and fangs in, and contacts, so I couldn’t eat or wipe my own ass!
“It was kind of disgusting,” Puck laughed. “But I love doing that kind of shit because it really pushes me mentally and physically — and the end product, as you saw, is so fucking cool. It’s so different from what I normally get to do, but dear God, is it hard! It was five hours in makeup, with touch-ups throughout.”
Back on the main stage, moderator Ricky Johnson interviewed all seven X3 All-Stars. Topics ranged from how they all stay in shape — CrossFit and Pilates for DeVille, so she can do “all the positions” — to favorite sexual positions, leading Brandani to demonstrate the yoga pose “Happy Baby” for the appreciative crowd; to the perfect penis size, with Rain expressing a preference for girth over length.
Finally, the group was asked for their favorite thing about working in adult.
Clouds reflected, “I consider myself very blessed that this industry has given me every sexual experience in a safe environment. I’m proud to be part of an incredible community of perverts!”
Brandani said, “I just love that everyone is very accepting and loving, and that you can really be yourself.”
DeVille said she appreciates the camaraderie and open-mindedness, while Kate simply hailed the financial freedom that the industry has afforded her.
Over at the ATMLA booth, the focus was on connection as much as presentation. Rep Mark Harris anchored the space alongside talent Nicole Aria, Sophia Locke and Lily Starfire, who sat side by side greeting fans throughout the day. Each brought her own sense of style” Aria draped in a silky champagne-colored robe, Locke shimmering in rhinestone-studded purple and Starfire adorned in mesh and sparkle that caught the light with every movement.
Harris observed that a lot of the business is about much more than what you see on screen.
“It’s not necessarily a personal connection, but people feel connected to the performers they support financially,” he said. “When you see someone online, that person-to-person interaction really matters. It solidifies who you’re supporting when you buy their content — it becomes someone you genuinely believe in.”
Elsewhere on the convention floor, reigning XMAs Gay Performer of the Year Derek Kage confided that being in a room full of people who want to meet him can feel overwhelming.
“I’m very neuro-spicy, so I get very nervous,” he said. “When I’m shooting, there’s usually a lot of dick involved, whether it’s one or two or 12, so I’m very focused on that.”
Across from where Kage was stationed, the Ricky’s Room booth was a hive of activity. In its biggest incarnation ever, the booth included two huge beds set up for fans to lie back on while stars like Ivy LeBelle, Willow Ryder and Baby Gemini gave them lap dances.
Raved studio honcho Ricky Johnson, back from his interviewing duties, “We’ve got 22 models at the booth this year! I needed this huge booth just to have enough room for all of them.”
Meanwhile in the screening room, Ricky Greenwood was screening his second movie of the day: Dorcel’s “Strip.”
The film, which marked the one-time-only return of superstar Riley Reid, stars Tommy Pistol as a sleazy strip club owner and features Kenna James, Jayden Cole, Nicole Vaunt, Nicole Doshi, Ameena Green, Blake Blossom, Anna Claire Clouds, Gizelle Blanco, Scarlett Alexis, Christian Clay, Charles Dera, Isiah Maxwell, Ryan Driller, Lucky Fate, Ken Feels, and Seth Gamble.
“It was interesting when we pitched that movie to Dorcel,” Greenwood recalled during the post-screening Q&A. “They asked me if we thought that Riley would be interested, and she hadn’t shot for a studio in years. I called her, and she was very into the movie. It was very surreal for us to have an actress of her stature coming back to do our picture.”
Pistol then spoke about what it was like to perform as the terrible club owner, especially when he had to do so under a massive amount of makeup and prosthetics.
“This movie is definitely, out of my 20 years of experience, probably the best role that I ever got to play,” he attested. “I really got to develop the character. He’s a scumbag, but I think he’s a scumbag survivor.
“Ricky put me in a bald wig and prosthetic teeth and so much makeup,” Pistol continued. “Every day on set, it was three hours of makeup to get that on, and then another hour after to get it off. But it got me into character. I came in ready, I came in sleazy.”
The event wrapped up with Gamble inviting a bevy of the industry’s breakout performers and creators onstage, including Addison Vodka, Sky Wonderland and Jasmine Sherni. Gamble led the coterie of up-and-coming stars in a rousing group interview about everything from how they broke into the industry to their favorite ways to have sex on camera.
It marked a perfect end to Day 1 of X3 Expo. The smiling crowd streamed out the front door while the tired but happy stars inside packed up their booths, ready to return the following morning to bring their A-games to Day 2.
