Drake Von Denies Strangulation Charges, Calls It a Publicity Stunt

When a felony arrest lands in the headlines, the usual playbook is radio silence or a lawyered-up statement. Not Drake Von. The gay porn star—whose real name is Dawson Bacon—is taking a different approach entirely, firing back at allegations he strangled his female partner by dismissing the whole thing as a misunderstanding and calling it a publicity stunt.

Von was arrested in Las Vegas on Tuesday after authorities claimed he attempted to strangle his female partner at a million-dollar home. Court records show he’s facing two felonies: domestic battery by strangulation and coercion constituting domestic violence with threat or use of physical force, plus a misdemeanor domestic battery charge. He was released on a $25,246 bond from the Vegas jail. Serious stuff, by any measure.

But in his statement to media, Von declared all allegations false and insisted the charges will be dropped. He’s even hinting at future content addressing the situation—suggesting he’s planning to weaponize his platform to tell his version of events. The emoji he included in his dismissal (“All allegations are false, charges will be dropped, and it was all a misunderstanding”) adds a layer of casual defiance that’s either calculated or tone-deaf, depending on your read.

This matters because it highlights a broader tension in how public figures respond to serious allegations in the social media age. Von has built a career of notoriety in the adult industry—he was nominated for eight awards at the 2024 GayVN Awards and took home two wins for“Favorite Twink”and“Favorite C***”—and his instinct appears to be to engage the narrative head-on rather than retreat. Whether that strategy helps or hurts him legally is a question for his attorneys. What’s clear is that the Las Vegas authorities aren’t buying his framing. They’ve charged him with felonies. The rest will play out in court.