Recording artist, porn star, musical theater luminary and sexy spokesmodel Valton Jackson (aka Andre Donovan) schools Thotyssey with everything he’s been up to, and what’s to come. [Cover photo: Michael Craft]
Thotyssey: Hello Valton, thanks for finding a moment for us! You were filming stuff for your OnlyFans, where you are better known as Andre Donovan! How did it go?
Valton Jackson: It went well! Me and the other model had great chemistry, and I think my subscribers will really enjoy the finished product. He was a total pro.
In these Covid days, lots of folks are turning towards OnlyFans as a way to supplement income. As someone who’s been in the porn biz for a bit, do you welcome all these newbies, or is it a little annoying that there are so many now?
OMG, not annoying at all. The more the merrier! More content creators means more people to
collab with, is how I see it. Plus, the more we all legitimize sex work, the less vilified it will be. And everybody’s got bills to pay! Everybody deserves food on their table.
Actually, tons of (mostly unverified) sex content was recently erased from the big providers like PornHub. That’s probably good for OnlyFans content creators, right?
Maybe? I guess I haven’t really given the matter much thought. Whenever I saw that PornHub was doing that, I was just kinda like, “okay, cool,” y’know? I also never posted on that site, so I didn’t feel affected either way. Personally, my number of OnlyFans subscribers hasn’t shifted one way or the other since the whole PornHub thing happened.
What is the more difficult thing to adjust to: being nude and sexual on camera, or performing in music or theater onstage?
That’s a really good question, actually! I mean, in both cases I was initially very nervous and unsure when getting into them professionally. But then at the same time, I think there’s something in me that always wanted to do both… and that something has always been there, to be honest.
Porn isn’t all that different from other mediums of entertainment, in my opinion: contracts, call times, responsibilities as the performer, listening to the director, remaining pleasant and professional on set. It’s all kinda the same across the board. The only difference is, one form of entertainment is for adults and the other is for families. And there’s even musicals about sex workers, so there’s actually even a bit of overlap!
Where is your native hometown, and were you always a performer of some kind while growing up?
Columbus, Georgia. And yes, I’ve been performing for as long as I can remember. I was always in church choir and school chorus, and I was in a professional boys’ singing group when I was in middle school. Then I began theater in high school and started dancing more in college, where I also was in three different singing ensembles. I graduated with a BA in Theater Performance, and played Tony in West Side Story my senior year. I moved to NYC back in 2009, and my main goal was to pursue musical theater as well as record my own music.
Do you have a favorite musical, by the way?
Once On This Island is my most favorite musical ever. I love it!
Have you always been writing songs?
I started my sophomore year of college; it was great time of discovery in my life. School was going great: I declared as a theater major after failing out of business, I won Prince (1st runner up) at the Black Student Union Scholarship Pageant and was voted Homecoming King all in the same weekend, I was captain and choreographer of the school dance team, and I played Agwe, God of Water in the winter production of Once On This Island. So it was a really really exciting and creative time for me–everything going on just made me super creative, for some reason.
You’ve since, in recent years, released lots of singles that are downloadable and streamable, as well as a bunch of videos. What’s been your favorite? Mine is probably “Shirtless!”
Aw, thank you so much! I like that one too. I’m probably proudest of “Greatest Part of Me” because of the lyrics; I really dug deep when I was writing that one. But I would say “Shirtless” is more representative of where I see my music going. I’ve always been heavily influenced by 90s R&B, 2000s pop and Eurodance music. Out of all my singles, I would say “Shirtless” is the most like that.
We were sad to see Therapy Bar close this year, during the Covid lockdown. You worked there, right?
I actually was the shot boy a couple of times, and I often modeled for their sketch drawing class “Sketchy Saturdays.” It was a wonderful place, and the bar manager Ryan Overberg is really sweet. It was definitely really sad to hear that Therapy didn’t survive the pandemic. I loved the vibe there: great music and drinks, and the intimate space forced all us New Yorkers to get real up close and personal and just dance. There were hardly any wallflowers upstairs at Therapy!
That’s for sure. So on Tuesday January 26th, you’ll be part of an interesting digital show care of the vital theater space Wild Project called “New York Stories & The Selling Shit Show!” The iconic NYC nightlife and theater figure Nora Burns is hosting, stuff is gonna be sold and legends like Michael Musto and Love Connie will be present! You’ll be a “Sexy Spokesmodel!”
Yeah, I’m excited about it. It’ll be fun to be around some New York nightlife peeps again. Nora Burns is one of the best people New York City had to offer–I absolutely adore her. She contacted me about the show only a few weeks ago and asked me about being the spokesmodel. Any time Nora asks me to do anything, the answer is always a resounding yes! She hasn’t given me a whole lot of details about it, but I do know it’s somewhat of a fundraiser benefiting New Alternatives for LGBTQ+ youth. People will be selling items from their homes. It’s supposed to be really fun, and I think I’m gonna be doing a few gogo sets! Venmo tips much appreciated.
Anything else coming up for you?
Well, there is a chance I’ll be in the ensemble of a production of Chicago this summer in St. Louis, and that would be amazing… so, prayers and fingers crossed that safety protocols and Covid guidelines allow for it to happen. And definitely be on the lookout for new music soon–I’m releasing more singles and remixes throughout the year. Also, I did get nominated for Best Actor at this year’s GayVN Awards; they’ll be streaming live on Monday. Everybody tune in!
Good luck! In closing: what do you most look forward to doing again once we’re all vaccinated?
Dancing! I miss dancing with people so much. There really is something so beautiful about being in a bar with the lights and the music and just connecting with a room full of people you have never met– most you won’t even talk to, and many you will probably never see again. And especially in a city like New York: it’s like we all don’t know what the other is going through fully, but we know it can get tough sometimes here. But so long as there’s music and a dancefloor, everything will be okay. Even if you gotta be drunk and cry… just cry on the dancefloor.
Thank you, Valton!
Check Thotyssey’s calendar for Valton Jackson’s upcoming appearances, and follow him on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Spotify, Amazon, Apple Music and OnlyFans (as Andre Donovan).
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