Trans Pioneer Wendy Williams Inks Publicity Pact With Ikigai Marketing

LAS VEGAS — Trans pioneer Wendy Williams has inked with Kristel Penn’s Ikigai Marketing for publicity services.

The performer, producer and entrepreneur is a Transgender Erotica Awards honoree for Lifetime Achievement as well as the first XBIZ Awards winner for Trans Performer of the Year.

Her two-decade genre-hopping career includes the 2012 Urban X award for Transsexual Interracial Performer of the Year and 2017 BBW Awards Trans Star of the Year honors.

Williams had typically flacked for herself, but elected to sign with Ikigai when she decided to begin stepping away from onscreen performances. "I am excited to work with Ikigai as my time in front of the camera comes to a close,” she said. “I decided I wanted someone to help me navigate and (brainstorm) with. I have so many projects that having Kristel in my corner can only make things easier and more professional.”

Williams’ varied slate of projects her personal cosmetics line, Painted by Wendy; producing and hosting the long-running weekly trans event LexingtonTGirlParties.com; and ownership of the Roadhouse LGBT bar in Cookeville, Tennessee.

Penn praised Williams’ advocacy and her pioneering career in adult. “It’s an honor to work with Wendy during this pivotal moment of her career,” Penn said. “By the time I entered the adult industry 11 years ago, Wendy was one of the most well-known performers in trans porn, and that continues today. She has been a longtime advocate of trans inclusion in the adult industry, and I believe her visibility and hard work has helped shape what our genre looks like today.”

Follow Williams on Twitter and Instagram.

Williams is among the trans industry luminaries interviewed in the current XBIZ World cover story "Trans Pop! How a Fringe Genre Captured the Imagination of Adult." Click here to read it.

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