Positive HIV tests shut down porn sets

AP | 4/15/04 | ROBERT JABLON

[kattracks]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Adult movie producers agreed to shut down sets for weeks Thursday after two performers tested positive for the virus that causes AIDS.

At least 45 men and women were under voluntary quarantine because they had sex with the HIV-positive performers or their sex partners, said Sharon Mitchell of the nonprofit Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation.

The first performer to test positive, whom Mitchell declined to name, was "conscientious" about having HIV tests every three weeks, she said. On Friday he tested positive for HIV and a follow-up test on Monday confirmed it, Mitchell said.

Mitchell confirmed later Thursday that one of about a dozen women the performer had sex with in films also tested HIV-positive.

A list of quarantined performers was placed on the Web site of the foundation, which screens about 1,200 adult movie performers a month for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

As of Thursday about a dozen adult movie companies had agreed to follow a voluntary moratorium on production until June 8, said Tim Connelly, publisher of the industry news magazine AVN.

Although the quarantine is voluntary, the performers involved won't be working for at least two months, until new tests clear them, Connelly said. It would be "absolutely insane" for companies to hire them earlier, he said.

Dr. Jonathan Fielding, director of public health and health officer for Los Angeles County, said the agency did not consider the HIV case a threat to public health "at this point."

"I think in general, they've done an appropriate job in terms of the quarantine measures taken," he said.

However, the discovery shows that screening programs are not perfect and the only way to prevent AIDS "is not to have unprotected sex."

Mary Carey, an adult movie star who ran for governor of California last fall, said she had not worked with the HIV-infected actor or his co-stars. However, as a precaution she was canceling a lesbian porn shoot even though she did not consider it risky.

"It's very scary," she said. "This is kind of a wake-up call for everybody."

It was unclear how much impact the work stoppage would have on the $4 billion to $13 billion-a-year industry, which is centered in the San Fernando Valley. Some companies have as much as a year's worth of movies ready, said Jill Kelly, a former adult performer turned producer.

Some of the largest players declined to take part in the moratorium, arguing that they already have safety measures in place. Vivid Entertainment Group of Van Nuys said it requires condom use and negative HIV tests within 30 days of the start of production.

The last industry HIV scare was in 1999, when a male performer tested positive for the disease. He no longer performs and no other performers were infected. Before that, a male performer infected five women in 1998.

[Rokurota]

"This is kind of a wake-up call for everybody."

Yeah. I mean, afterall, you've hit the snooze button a couple million times for the last two decades.

[cyborg]

Mary Carey, an adult movie star who ran for governor of California last fall, said she had not worked with the HIV-infected actor or his co-stars. However, as a precaution she was canceling a lesbian porn shoot even though she did not consider it risky.

*** That statement is wrong on so many levels.

[Izzy Dunne]

"It's very scary," she said. "This is kind of a wake-up call for everybody."

So why the heck have you been sleeping for the last 20 years?

[Hank Rearden]

Whew. I'll stick with my amateur star status, thankyouverymuch. ;-)

[railsplitter]

I simply can't resist the opportunity...

a seminal moment in history

[ken5050]

What's the over/under on when the first lawsuit gets filed? The actors can't lose their shirts, they aren't wearing any...but the producers.....

[Guillermo]

Bill and Roger Clinton are going to start a riot over this...

[railsplitter]

What's the chance some of these 'workers' file for unemployment... and get it ?

After all, it is California...

[spetznaz]

Whew. I'll stick with my amateur star status, thankyouverymuch. ;-)

Just remember Murphy's law # 101. subsection 69: If you film it, and you only intend it for private viewing between you and a loved one, be assured it will be seen by the last person (or group of people) you would want viewing it.

Beware! Tadadada. LOL.

[lavrenti]

That statement is wrong on so many levels.

This is so tragic . I feel deprived and emotionally empty by her decision.

[lavrenti]

I'm a total professional in the unfilmed moments in my life. ;-)

[Guillermo]

AIDS is a civil rights status, not a disease.

Of course they'll get all kinds of benefits.

[cyborg]

I am sickened at how these people don't expect consequences to their behavior.

[Hank Rearden]

I don't film nuttin'.

I have etchings.

[cyborg]

That's right and Ole Crusty better hope she never gets in the bathroom stall next to me either... me and my digital camera :D

[lavrenti]

I agree. They knowingly take the risks but expect that testing will prevent the unavoidable.

It's the denial that bothers me.

[BossLady]

Porn Biz Stiff (for awhile...;)

[Slings and Arrows]

More here.

[socal_parrot]

I checked the quarentine list on their website and have just one question...

Who thinks up these stage names?

So I searched Google for a Pornstar name generator and found one here.

John Kerry's Pornstar name is... Uncle Bendover.

That makes sense.