Porn star August Ames dead at 23; friends suspect she committed suicide

The outlet reports that her cause of death is currently unknown, but friends suspect it was a suicide, as Ames was prone to depression.

Law enforcement sources said she was pronounced dead at the scene, and there was no indication of foul play.

Throughout her four years in the business, she appeared in more than 270 X-rated films for companies like Evil Angel, Smash Pictures and Lethal Hardcore.

Her popularity had risen steadily since she nabbed a nomination for Best New Starlet at the 2015 AVN Awards; she scored a nomination for Female Performer of the Year in 2016, 2017 and the upcoming 2018 Awards, set for January.

She also had a large social media following, though friends tell The Blast her prominent online presence may have contributed to her death.

Ames’s Twitter feed was littered in recent days with cyberbullies accusing her of being homophobic after she publicly chose not to work with an unidentified actor who had previously shot gay porn.

Whichever (lady) performer is replacing me tomorrow for @EroticaXNews, you’re shooting with a guy who has shot gay porn, just to let cha know. BS is all I can say. Do agents really not care about who they’re representing? #ladirect I do my homework for my body,” she wrote Dec. 3.

Shortly after posting the tweet, Ames was forced to defend herself against a flood of online harassers.

“NOT homophobic. Most girls don’t shoot with guys who have shot gay porn, for safety. That’s just how it is with me. I’m not putting my body at risk, I don’t know what they do in their private lives,” she wrote.

A day later, on Dec. 4, she expressed frustration with the criticism.