Another U.S. porn actor tests positive for HIV, leading to moratorium

[cumrag27]

By Alex Dobuzinskis

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A U.S. porn actor has tested positive for the virus that causes AIDS, the third such case reported in less than three weeks, leading a Los Angeles-based trade group for adult filmmakers to call a fresh nationwide moratorium on Friday on productions.

The infections follow a vote last year by Los Angeles County residents to require porn actors to wear condoms when having sex on set, a measure that proponents of the requirement complain is largely going unenforced in the county.

In the latest infection, a doctor affiliated with health screening facilities used by the pornography industry reported that a performer had tested positive for HIV, said Joanne Cachapero, membership director of the Free Speech Coalition, the trade group for adult filmmakers.

Details on the porn performer, including gender and any adult film company that employed him or her, were not released by the group, and Cachapero said she could not discuss in which part of the country the person was based.

"While we don't have evidence to suggest an on-set transmission as opposed to a transmission from non-industry (off-camera) related activity, we are taking every measure to determine the source and to protect the performer pool," the Free Speech Coalition said in a statement.

The group quickly called for another moratorium on porn productions to remain in effect indefinitely, Cachapero said.

The multibillion-dollar adult film industry, centered in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, has vigorously opposed efforts to require condom use on set.

It protested against a 2012 voter-approved measure requiring condoms to be used in Los Angeles County and has argued against efforts for such regulation at the state level that would be specifically geared to film productions.

Even before the most recent infection, the Free Speech Coalition had called a moratorium on August 21 after an actress who worked under the name Cameron Bay revealed that she had contracted HIV. The moratorium ended on August 27, Cachapero said.

A second porn performer, who goes by the stage name Rod Daily, said on Tuesday via Twitter that he had contracted HIV. The Free Speech Coalition said at the time that his statement appeared authentic, but did not then call a moratorium.

That is in part because Daily pursued his own medical care, rather than working through the porn industry's health screening system that triggered the moratorium in this latest case, Cachapero said.

Michael Weinstein, whose AIDS Healthcare Foundation led the successful 2012 campaign to require condoms in porn productions in Los Angeles County, expressed dismay at the new infection.

"I'm sad for the person involved," he said. "But I'm really sad for our community, that we're treating these people as utterly disposable."

Weinstein said a male porn performer who he believes to be the fourth person linked to the adult film industry in recent days to test positive for HIV has contacted his organization, but he declined to release details about the man.

Los Angeles County public health officials have done little to enforce the condom requirement, he said.

"The reality of the matter is they wouldn't even defend it in the courts, we had to step up and defend the constitutionality of it, which we won," Weinstein said.

A spokesman for a county supervisor and a representative for the local health department could not be reached for comment late on Friday.

(Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Eric Walsh)


Stimpy

 

[joninliverton]

As they said, they have no proof that the infection was caused on set. Bareback sex is now prevalent and for those who choose to do it then they are putting themselves at risk.

 

[mikeyank]

As they said, they have no proof that the infection was caused on set. Bareback sex is now prevalent and for those who choose to do it then they are putting themselves at risk.

I agree that we don't know where it came from, but stories like this made me cringle when I watched sweet 18 year old Ian's video blog, and he said how he is trying to convince his mom not to worry and just how safe it is with the testing they do. I hope to God that is the case.

 

[joninliverton]

I agree that we don't know where it came from, but stories like this made me cringle when I watched sweet 18 year old Ian's video blog, and he said how he is trying to convince his mom not to worry and just how safe it is with the testing they do. I hope to God that is the case.

Yes Mike I agree. No price can be put on life and if you don't need the big barebacking bucks, then use a condom and earn that little bit less.

 

[Milla79]

I'm with you on that one, Mike.

This is beyond scary and horrible. It brings back the bareback issue, big time.

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/3944401?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003&ir=Gay Voices

Porn Performer With HIV Says Costar Was Bleeding During Shoot (GRAPHIC)

Kathleen MilesSep 19, 2013Warning: This article addresses graphic subject matter that may not be appropriate for all readers.With news cameras flashing, adult film performer Cameron Bay told reporters that in her last porn shoot before testing positive for HIV, her partner's penis was bleeding -- and he wasn't wearing a condom. After stopping momentarily, the cameras continued rolling, she said.Bay, whose positive HIV test*sparked the first of two porn moratoriums in the last month,*spoke Wednesday at a Hollywood press conference with other adult film performers, including two who said they also contracted HIV this year. The press conference was coordinated by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which advocates for mandatory condom use in porn.Five current and former porn performers spoke about the dangers and uncertainty of life in the adult film industry. While the performers said they can't be sure when and where they contracted HIV, they agreed the industry is not adequately protecting its performers.Choking back tears, Bay continued to describe her last shoot, filmed at a public bar in San Francisco for Kink.com."There were up to 50 people in the room with us. And we were laying on top of them. And they were touching inappropriately," Bay said. "It all happened so fast. I didn’t realize how unsafe it was until I saw the pictures ... You're on a whole other level when you're doing something so extreme."Bay*told HuffPost last week*that condoms were available, but not required at the shoot. She said she didn't think she needed to use a condom because her male costar had recently tested negative for sexually transmitted diseases, and she left the choice up to him. Kink.com confirmed to HuffPost that Bay was offered a condom, but it was not used.Porn performer Patrick Stone told reporters he was asked to perform in a shoot even after he tested positive for HIV. He said he was told he was HIV-positive in an email on Sept. 10 from Performer Availability Screening Services, which handles STD testing for the industry. Stone said he never got a follow-up call or email from PASS, or from his employer Kink.com, to discuss the results or schedule follow-up testing. Instead, he got an email from Kink.com two days later inquiring about scheduling a shoot this week, he said.Since then, Stone has taken two additional tests that he said show him as HIV-negative. He said he's awaiting results from a fourth and final test."It's been kind of a whirlwind week for me emotionally," Stone said. "I feel that the testing process for PASS is not working. If I was allowed to fall through the cracks like I did, who else is out there?"I mean, they had me scheduled for a shoot tomorrow and as far as they knew, I was HIV-positive," Stone said.Kink.com said that it did not know about Stone's positive HIV test when it scheduled him for the shoot."He had tested negative for us previously. Because of the moratorium, tests were not updated on the PASS system for producers (because no one was cleared for work)," Mike Stabile, spokesman for Kink.com, said in an email to HuffPost. "He would have been required [to take] a new test regardless before shooting."Another man who identified himself as a porn performer joined the press conference by phone, saying he wanted to remain anonymous. He claimed to have contracted HIV working in the industry and tested positive in the last six months. That would make him the third performer to test positive for the virus this year.About two weeks after a shoot, he said he developed acute symptoms and tested positive. He said he had tested negative for HIV two weeks earlier.A fourth performer, Rod Daily, said he learned he was HIV-positive*earlier this month. Daily, who has been in a romantic relationship with Cameron Bay for about two years, has performed in gay porn since 2005 and said he always used condoms."That's 12 years that I've shot with HIV-positive people, used condoms and never been HIV-positive," Daily said. "If anything, I know that condoms do work. I was a guinea pig for that."I just don’t know how an industry stands here and says they care so much about their performers and, a week after someone tests positive, they're out there shooting without condoms," Daily said. "Ultimately, it’s a business, and their main concern is money and not their performers."Daily thanked the AIDS Healthcare Foundation "for everything they've done," including helping him and Bay get medication.Former performer Derrick Burts said he became infected with HIV in 2010 working as a porn performer. Burts said that, like Bay, he had only worked in the industry for a few months before contracting HIV. In his four-month porn career, he said, he contracted chlamydia, gonorrhea and herpes as well."To me this is one huge flashback," Burts said. "What's the acceptable number of cases of HIV or herpes or HPV or syphilis or any other dangerous STD before people step up and do something about this?"Another former performer, Darren James, who said he became infected with HIV in 2004 working as a porn performer, said he "almost lost it" listening to Bay tell her story."I didn’t want to see a whole army of people sitting at this table," said James, who now works for the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. "This industry has failed and continues to fail. We all need to wake up."Left to right: Darren James, Derrick Burts, Patrick Stone, AIDS Healthcare Foundation president Michael Weinstein, Rod Daily and Cameron BayWhen Bay found out she had HIV on Aug. 21, the Free Speech Coalition, which oversees a database of all adult film performers' STD tests, placed a*moratorium on porn shooting. Six days later, the organization lifted the moratorium.A week after porn shooting had resumed, Bay's boyfriend, Daily, announced that he had tested positive for HIV. Two days after Daily said he was HIV-positive, another performer, who wasn't identified, tested positive. That prompted the Free Speech Coalition to impose a second moratorium.The Free Speech Coalition*announced this week*that it would lift the second moratorium on Friday. It also said it will begin requiring STD testing of performers every 14 days, twice as often as before.The Free Speech Coalition maintains that the three performers who recently tested HIV-positive -- Bay, Daily and the anonymous man -- did not contract HIV on a film set.LA voters in November passed a measure mandating condom use in porn, despite a large, coordinated campaign against it by the porn industry. Industry insiders say there has been no enforcement of the new law.The law was authored by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which maintains that no amount of testing is safe without condom use. "It's like trying to prevent pregnancy with a pregnancy test," said foundation communications director Ged Kenslea.

 

[cumrag27]

Stay Healthy

I just think the risks outweigh the short-term benefit of being condom free for filming sake. Life is full of choices and if you think you are so invincible, then for sure your luck is bound to catch up with you living life at the margins. Obviously, it is their decision ultimately. Playing with fire is bound to burn you some time. And besides, barebacking is not a necessity in Porn!

I pray that all models stay healthy and have a lifetime filled with enjoying good health!


Sincerely,



Stimpy

 

[cumrag27]

I'm with you on that one, Mike.

This is beyond scary and horrible. It brings back the bareback issue, big time.

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/3944401?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003&ir=Gay Voices

Porn Performer With HIV Says Costar Was Bleeding During Shoot (GRAPHIC)

Kathleen MilesSep 19, 2013Warning: This article addresses graphic subject matter that may not be appropriate for all readers.With news cameras flashing, adult film performer Cameron Bay told reporters that in her last porn shoot before testing positive for HIV, her partner's penis was bleeding -- and he wasn't wearing a condom. After stopping momentarily, the cameras continued rolling, she said.Bay, whose positive HIV test*sparked the first of two porn moratoriums in the last month,*spoke Wednesday at a Hollywood press conference with other adult film performers, including two who said they also contracted HIV this year. The press conference was coordinated by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which advocates for mandatory condom use in porn.Five current and former porn performers spoke about the dangers and uncertainty of life in the adult film industry. While the performers said they can't be sure when and where they contracted HIV, they agreed the industry is not adequately protecting its performers.Choking back tears, Bay continued to describe her last shoot, filmed at a public bar in San Francisco for Kink.com."There were up to 50 people in the room with us. And we were laying on top of them. And they were touching inappropriately," Bay said. "It all happened so fast. I didn’t realize how unsafe it was until I saw the pictures ... You're on a whole other level when you're doing something so extreme."Bay*told HuffPost last week*that condoms were available, but not required at the shoot. She said she didn't think she needed to use a condom because her male costar had recently tested negative for sexually transmitted diseases, and she left the choice up to him. Kink.com confirmed to HuffPost that Bay was offered a condom, but it was not used.Porn performer Patrick Stone told reporters he was asked to perform in a shoot even after he tested positive for HIV. He said he was told he was HIV-positive in an email on Sept. 10 from Performer Availability Screening Services, which handles STD testing for the industry. Stone said he never got a follow-up call or email from PASS, or from his employer Kink.com, to discuss the results or schedule follow-up testing. Instead, he got an email from Kink.com two days later inquiring about scheduling a shoot this week, he said.Since then, Stone has taken two additional tests that he said show him as HIV-negative. He said he's awaiting results from a fourth and final test."It's been kind of a whirlwind week for me emotionally," Stone said. "I feel that the testing process for PASS is not working. If I was allowed to fall through the cracks like I did, who else is out there?"I mean, they had me scheduled for a shoot tomorrow and as far as they knew, I was HIV-positive," Stone said.Kink.com said that it did not know about Stone's positive HIV test when it scheduled him for the shoot."He had tested negative for us previously. Because of the moratorium, tests were not updated on the PASS system for producers (because no one was cleared for work)," Mike Stabile, spokesman for Kink.com, said in an email to HuffPost. "He would have been required [to take] a new test regardless before shooting."Another man who identified himself as a porn performer joined the press conference by phone, saying he wanted to remain anonymous. He claimed to have contracted HIV working in the industry and tested positive in the last six months. That would make him the third performer to test positive for the virus this year.About two weeks after a shoot, he said he developed acute symptoms and tested positive. He said he had tested negative for HIV two weeks earlier.A fourth performer, Rod Daily, said he learned he was HIV-positive*earlier this month. Daily, who has been in a romantic relationship with Cameron Bay for about two years, has performed in gay porn since 2005 and said he always used condoms."That's 12 years that I've shot with HIV-positive people, used condoms and never been HIV-positive," Daily said. "If anything, I know that condoms do work. I was a guinea pig for that."I just don’t know how an industry stands here and says they care so much about their performers and, a week after someone tests positive, they're out there shooting without condoms," Daily said. "Ultimately, it’s a business, and their main concern is money and not their performers."Daily thanked the AIDS Healthcare Foundation "for everything they've done," including helping him and Bay get medication.Former performer Derrick Burts said he became infected with HIV in 2010 working as a porn performer. Burts said that, like Bay, he had only worked in the industry for a few months before contracting HIV. In his four-month porn career, he said, he contracted chlamydia, gonorrhea and herpes as well."To me this is one huge flashback," Burts said. "What's the acceptable number of cases of HIV or herpes or HPV or syphilis or any other dangerous STD before people step up and do something about this?"Another former performer, Darren James, who said he became infected with HIV in 2004 working as a porn performer, said he "almost lost it" listening to Bay tell her story."I didn’t want to see a whole army of people sitting at this table," said James, who now works for the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. "This industry has failed and continues to fail. We all need to wake up."Left to right: Darren James, Derrick Burts, Patrick Stone, AIDS Healthcare Foundation president Michael Weinstein, Rod Daily and Cameron BayWhen Bay found out she had HIV on Aug. 21, the Free Speech Coalition, which oversees a database of all adult film performers' STD tests, placed a*moratorium on porn shooting. Six days later, the organization lifted the moratorium.A week after porn shooting had resumed, Bay's boyfriend, Daily, announced that he had tested positive for HIV. Two days after Daily said he was HIV-positive, another performer, who wasn't identified, tested positive. That prompted the Free Speech Coalition to impose a second moratorium.The Free Speech Coalition*announced this week*that it would lift the second moratorium on Friday. It also said it will begin requiring STD testing of performers every 14 days, twice as often as before.The Free Speech Coalition maintains that the three performers who recently tested HIV-positive -- Bay, Daily and the anonymous man -- did not contract HIV on a film set.LA voters in November passed a measure mandating condom use in porn, despite a large, coordinated campaign against it by the porn industry. Industry insiders say there has been no enforcement of the new law.The law was authored by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which maintains that no amount of testing is safe without condom use. "It's like trying to prevent pregnancy with a pregnancy test," said foundation communications director Ged Kenslea.

So very true!


Stimpy

 

[Milla79]

I just think the risks outweigh the short-term benefit of being condom free for filming sake. Life is full of choices and if you think you are so invincible, then for sure your luck is bound to catch up with you living life at the margins. Obviously, it is their decision ultimately. Playing with fire is bound to burn you some time. And besides, barebacking is not a necessity in Porn!

I pray that all models stay healthy and have a lifetime filled with enjoying good health!


Sincerely,



Stimpy

I just don't get the appeal of bareback sex and the more I think about it, the worst it gets. I feel like the models are playing Russian Roulette with their health and there's nothing we can do. Ultimately, it's their choice and not ours.
We voiced our concerns when Broke Straight Boys announced they'd be doing bareback scenes and clearly, it hasn't changed anything.

That article relates facts that are true and horrifying. Yet, it'll probably won't change the models' mind even if they were to read it because they are lead to believe that the testing they go through before each scene is enough. It is NOT enough, of course. I just don't know what it would take to convince the models not to do bareback.

 

[cumrag27]

I just don't get the appeal of bareback sex and the more I think about it, the worst it gets. I feel like the models are playing Russian Roulette with their health and there's nothing we can do. Ultimately, it's their choice and not ours.
We voiced our concerns when Broke Straight Boys announced they'd be doing bareback scenes and clearly, it hasn't changed anything.

That article relates facts that are true and horrifying. Yet, it'll probably won't change the models' mind even if they were to read it because they are lead to believe that the testing they go through before each scene is enough. It is NOT enough, of course. I just don't know what it would take to convince the models not to do bareback.

Dear Milla,

I just know that along with testosterone at high levels, our able bodied models who are engaging in barebacking are testing the limits and assuming that physical laws somehow do not apply to them. They have convinced themselves that they are somehow immune to STD's. The same denial took place in the 1970's and 80's and we had an epidemic of terminally ill people that essentially "threw caution to the wind" and tragically paid the ultimate price in the end.

Of the current practitioners at Broke Straight Boys, at least most of them are ejaculating after withdrawing, even if that is still far more risky than using a condom. It makes me sick to see a model deliberately try to breed the bottoms ass, knowing full well that they are not doing their partner any favors.


Sincerely,


Stimpy

 

[joninliverton]

It's 9 months now since we got our first bareback scene on Broke Straight Boys At first there was hell on with many members threatening to quit, some did but not many. I've had a good thing about this recently as I've seen other gay sites move over to bareback, so soon bareback may well be the norm, well apart from US states that have banned it. Without actually insulting the viewers of this or any barebacking site, from my experience in the real world, I really do think that this new trend of bb porn is having an effect in the real world. Obviously to get a true picture, then a proper investigation would have to be done however, I base my statement on chats that I have with my gay friends and my own experience, and most guys these days don't go clubbing with "a pack of 3" in their pocket. On the odd time that I have done randoms I have noticed that many guys don't consider socking up when the time comes to fuck, I just say hey it's play safe or nothing. If they say they havn't got any condoms then it's no to fucking.

 

[tampa24]

I just say hey it's play safe or nothing. If they say they havn't got any condoms then it's no to fucking.

Good for you. You'll live longer.

 

[joninliverton]

Unless I get hit by a 10 ton truck or a double decker bus.