Don't Believe a Porn Star
Since we're in the midst of a vague, threatening porn industry HIV scare, some things are changing. Like talent-producer relations. Do you trust your porn stars? Don't! [UPDATED]:
LA health officials disclosed last week that there have been 22 cases of HIV in the porn industry in the past five years, which is just vague enough to convince everyone that anyone could be a victim. Now, they're telling porn flick makers: if your actors say they're STD-free, don't believe them. Even if they have a doctor's note:
"If you do not see a name of a person you wish to shoot on the [test results database], don't use them, or at least call our office," said Sharon Mitchell, co-founder of the Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation, in a statement released Monday. She also said not to rely on paper certificates, "even if it looks like an original."
This would seem to imply a real risk that porn actors are forging clean test results, which actually is scary. [LAT]
UPDATE: As a counterpoint, check out this press release from the Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation, which says HIV testing in the porn industry is extremely thorough, and this AVN story, which analyzes exactly who those 22 positive tests were, and makes the case that the situation is far less dire than it sounds.