HIV-positive porn stars call for condom use in adult films
The LA porn industry is temporarily shutting down to combat a syphilis scare. A ballot initiative set for the November 6 election would require adult performers across Los Angeles county to wear condoms in X-rated film shoots.
LOS ANGELES — Three adult film actors who tested positive for HIV are now calling for condoms to be used in the porn industry.
Cameron Bay and her boyfriend Rod Daily held a press conference in Los Angeles on Wednesday, along with a third performer who declined to be identified and spoke via telephone.
The performers, supported by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, said the recent outbreaks show the porn industry's self-policing method of testing performers for sexual transmitted infections is not working.
"Asking for a condom on set wasn't really what you did because you could just be replaced," said Bay.
The adult film industry has shut down twice in the last month as a result of HIV-positive tests.
Bay said she suspect she contracted the virus while working for a San Francisco-based adult film company called Kink.com.
The studio's owner Peter Acworth denied the company had anything to do with the infection and accused the AIDS Healthcare Foundation of playing "loose with the facts" to "generate hysteria around HIV."
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Daily mainly appeared in gay porn films and often worked on sets that required condoms.
"Condoms in porn is not really that crazy a thing," said Daily. "If they do care that much about the performers, they would use condoms."
The porn industry has fought against any regulation that would require performers to wear condoms.
The city of Los Angeles passed an ordinance last spring that required the use of condoms on set and it was extended to the whole county in November.
Many in the industry have vehemently fought the measure, saying they would be forced to move production out of Los Angeles, and particularly the San Fernando Valley, where most of America's legally distributed porn is either filmed or produced.
"I'm not here to push anything down anybody's throat, I'm not here to fight anybody's fight," said Bay.
"I'm just here to share my story and to get knowledge out there to people and try to prevent anything like this happening to anyone else."