Since a few weeks ago, Vixen Media Group has been paying for talent’s tests – not just the COVID-19 test; their entire testing cost.
We at MikeSouth.com think that this is quite laudable, and that it’s worth publicizing what Vixen is doing in the hope that other producers will follow suit.
Hopefully a sense of competition between producers will create a drive to do this type of thing, if for no other reason than to attract performers.
As one talent agent told me last week, “I think post-COVID, and in the OnlyFans era, producers are really beginning to feel the squeeze of models who no longer care about them, no longer live in LA, have stopped shooting, etc…”
Bear in mind, also, that California law has always required employers to pay for pre-employment medical testing — something that which has only been reinforced with the passage of (the ludicrous and destructive) AB5. Somehow, the adult business has always passed that cost on to the talent.
Hopefully that has begun to change.
In light of all this, we congratulate Vixen Media Group on being the one of first ever west coast producers (if not the very first) to be in full compliance with the law vis-a-vis their responsibility to models. What Mike Moz and Vixen have done in paying for performers’ entire testing cost deserves to be hailed as a bold and positive step by a respected producer towards improving performer conditions in the adult industry.
In April, Vixen announced that it would provide up to $250,000 worth of package deals to talent in the adult entertainment community during the COVID-19 pandemic. The customized package included items such as cameras, ring lights, toys, lingerie and more to help them curate new, high-end content at home.
It should also be noted that Moz has contributed some very sensible comments to recent media reports, all the more brave because of the tone of melodramatic panic that pervades most mainstream stories about the adult business in the age of trial by Twitter witch hunts.
Good work, Mr. Moz.
Follow Vixen Media Group on Twitter @Vixen
One Response
Excellent move, Mike Moz. However, in reference to a comment about it in the article, for years Kink paid for their talent testing as well. I know they were based in SF and not LA but they were probably the first of the modern era to pay for talent testing (I don’t know how testing was paid for on sets pre-1997, some required VD tests and some did not before the 1997 on-set Marc Wallice AIDS transmission scandal). I think Porno Dan also paid for testing when he was here in the States, granted he only produced 2-3 scenes per week but at least it was something.
One thing that scares me about the transition to performer produced material is the possibility that people could agree to forgo the VD testing that has been virtually standard since 1997-1998 thinking that they know and can trust each other. That attitude could send a VD epidemic through the industry not seen since the Marc Wallice scandal. The only reason the Mr. Marcus syphilis scandal didn’t take off like wildfire and infection was limited to about 18 performers was the testing requirement (on some sets and a standard test with TTS, later extended to the whole industry). Marcus got away with two scenes during a syphilis infection and it was so infectious that within the then 30 day testing period it got to 16 other people that many of whom probably never even met Marcus. It is easier to dispense with VD testing when a larger company such as Vixen, Gamma/Adulttime or the old Vivid and Wicked are not involved.