A fourth porn-film star who works in the California market has tested positive for HIV, fueling fears and bringing to a standstill an industry that’s steadfastly resisted regulations guiding safe-sex practices.
“I can confirm that a male performer came to us and indicated that he had become infected with HIV,” said Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, in The Guardian. And this might prove the final straw to bring the industry to mandate condom use during film production.
As Mr. Weinstein said, current standards are akin to “Russian roulette,” The Guardian reported. “I don’t know how many people have to be infected before things change.”
In recent weeks, a 29-year-old female with a screen name of Cameron Bay tested positive and later, two others came forward with the same claim, shutting down production for a time. Industry executives have called another moratorium on current production while others take tests, but concerns are that not all who work in the industry see the situation as serious.
A male performer — screen name Rod Daily — linked to Miss Bay who also announced a positive HIV test tweeted shortly after his test: “Drumroll please!! I’m 32 years old and I’m HIV positive. Acute HIV, which means I recently was infected.” He also tweeted: “I’m blessed for the fact that I caught it so early that I can blast that [expletive] with meds.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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