The following is an excerpt from an article by Richard Abowitz at TheDailyBeast
For the Full article CLICK HERE
An anonymous porn actor’s positive HIV test is sending ripples of fear across the adult industry—and the tight-lipped reaction of the clinic that conducted the test isn’t helping, porn performers tell Richard Abowitz.
When porn star Bobbi Starr learned of the possible positive HIV test of a fellow performer in her industry on Tuesday, she went straight to the Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation clinic in the San Fernando Valley. She was there to get retested, but also to find out which adult performers were on the HIV quarantine list, so that she could avoid working with them in movies. The clinic, which conducts mandatory monthly testing for porn actors in the Valley, told her only that if she was quarantined, she would have been notified already.
“I am frustrated, to be honest,” Starr says. “I want to know who is on that list. And AIM won’t tell us, because AIM is only looking out for themselves, despite what they say about being there for the talent.”
Performer Courtney Cummz echoes Starr. “AIM should let us know who is impacted, because we could have shot content with them and they forgot to add to the list,” she says. “Or they could be one of my friends’ booty calls. You just don’t know.”
So, far little is known publicly about the latest HIV scare to embroil the adult industry beyond the clinic’s confirming to the Los Angeles Times that a performer tested positive there on Tuesday. UPDATE: The actor in question has been identified as a male performer who appeared in both gay and straight adult films. As a result, more than half a dozen companies have temporarily suspended shooting films. It’s an eerily familiar situation for the industry, which attracted media attention last year when an aspiring female performer tested positive, also at the AIM clinic.
As with previous HIV scares, many in the adult industry are questioning the status quo of AIM controls. But some others, whose numbers include performers, agents, producers, and directors, are far more worried that the result of the latest positive test will be a government intervention in the lucrative porn business via the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration or Los Angeles County, where the industry is largely based.
Adult director John Stagliano, owner of Evil Angel, one of the largest distributors of porn in the country, notes: “I worry about the government stepping in and driving the industry out of the state.” Adult talent agent Mark Spiegler has even wider geographical worries: “People say California OSHA, but there is something everywhere in this country. And what is going to happen is that this industry is going to go to outsourcing like any other industry. It is already cheaper to shoot in some other countries. And if you put in a lot of new rules, you are going to see a lot more of that.”
“The first thing you think is, ‘Who is the last person I worked with?…Every time we work, we play Russian roulette with ourselves.”
Starr, who is a client of Spiegler’s, sees things differently. “I am a big fan of CA/OSHA,” she says. “I think condoms should be required. I work without them because otherwise I would not work. I knew that when I got in the industry. But who would not want to feel safer? I would be happy to see condoms made mandatory.”
Cummz points out that while gay male porn uses condoms, that side of the industry is not as consistent about testing. “It is past time for OSHA to come in and regulate us, both gay and straight,” she says. “This is the second time. This happened last year. It is time for condoms to be mandatory and for testing. It is time for OSHA to get involved.”
5 Responses
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In some senses, this is a good indication of how the porn industry is like herding cats. Everyone has their own ideas and it is really hard to get everyone to agree on things. In the end, only government regulation (the type few want) will end up setting the standards if the industry is unable to.
AIM needs to come forward with patient zero info, as well as a better indication of who all is on the quarantine list. I applaud the production companies who have shut down outright to avoid the risks, but I am sure there are plenty of independent and one off shoots still going on, potentially with quarantined performers.
Come on AIM, it’s time to “man up” and lead.
raswalex says,,,I applaud the produstcion comanies who have shut down…….”
Good for them.
Now rawalex,,,what do you have to say about the production companies that hire guys from the gay industry to have unprotected sex with on straight industry sets?
Applauding the companies that shut down……they are doing nothing more that what they SHOUD BE DOING. Like Chris rock would say,,,”You want a cookit for that!!!”
Milton, the production companies could just as easily go “all condom” for the period, avoid the people on AIM’s list, and keep going. But they are smart enough to realize that the extent of the situation isn’t really known, so why take chances?
I am not a huge fans of the guys going both ways, especially when it has been reported that a number of gay content producers are not quite as strict on AIM testing. Yes, they use condoms more than straight productions, but at the end of the day, there is still exchange of fluids and that is a risk area. Many male performers are “gay for pay” or “straight for pay”, but since both sides don’t play by the same rules when it comes to testing and safety issues, we end up with the current issues.
For me, guys who do gay porn, or any performer that does penetration hardcore outside of the US should be in a 30-45 day quarantine before they are allowed to work again. While we do not have all the proof here, it appears that these are two very specific areas where issues are coming up.