Infected porn stars: HIV outbreak shows industry needs to get serious about condoms

[nysprod]

Porn actors Cameron Bay and her boyfriend Rod Daily, both of whom recently tested positive for HIV, held a news conference in Hollywood on Wednesday to speak out about the need for condoms in the industry.

By David Knowles / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS


Cameron Bay, an adult film performer who became infected with HIV while working in the industry in August 2013, cries as she speaks out about her treatment by the porn industry during a news conference sponsored by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation.

Sexual fantasy has suddenly given way to a harsh reality.

Porn actors Cameron Bay and her boyfriend Rod Daily held an emotional news conference in Hollywood on Wednesday, taking aim at what they see as lax health standards that lead them both to contract the HIV virus.

Bay had been in the porn industry just three months before learning on August 21 that she was HIV-positive. A previous test on July 27 had come back negative, and Bay attributes the source of her infection to a July 31 film shoot with San Francisco-based fetish porn company Kink.com.

During that shoot, Bay said, an actor developed a cut on his penis, but cameras kept rolling as the scene with Bay continued to be shot.


Bay and her real-life boyfriend, adult film actor Rod Daily, both recently tested positive for HIV.

"I'm not here to push anything down anybody's throat, I'm not here to fight anybody's fight," Bay said, fighting back tears. "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."

Daily, who has often shot gay scenes in which the use of condoms is much more prevalent than in straight films, said the sudden spike in reported HIV cases could have been prevented.

After a two-week moratorium on making X-rated films, the Free Speech Coalition, a Los Angeles trade group, announced that companies would resume filming porn on Friday. The group said it would also revise its guidelines mandating that porn actors be tested every 14 days rather than the current standard of every 28, for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.


"I do know for a fact that condoms will work, have worked, do work," Rod Daily said at Wendesday's news conference.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation has long pushed for the porn industry to require actors to use condoms while on set, but Kink.com founder Peter Acworth says that the responsibility lies with the porn stars.

"All of our models are informed that they request a condom at any time, that they can stop a shoot at any time, and that they control the scene... We take consent and safety seriously," Acworth said in a written statement.

Actor Patrick Stone said the problem goes beyond offering condoms to performers, and noted at the press conference that Kink.com had scheduled him for a film shoot despite the fact that he had received a false-positive HIV test.

"They had me scheduled for a shoot tomorrow, and as far as they knew, I was HIV positive," he said at the press conference.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation President Michael Weinstein added that even regular testing is insufficient when it comes to protecting the health of porn workers.

"Whether or not [Bay] was infected on set, she performed with HIV between her tests," Weinstein told the LA Times. "If you think that Russian roulette is a great way to protect workers, then the present system is perfect."

[bluesoul]

but didn't they get infected by sexual activities outside the porn industry?

maybe they should be holding a press conference to insist that people wear condoms when engaging in sexual relations with people who aren't familiar with their hiv status

[nysprod]

but didn't they get infected by sexual activities outside the porn industry?

maybe they should be holding a press conference to insist that people wear condoms when engaging in sexual relations with people who aren't familiar with their hiv status

The article said "Bay attributes the source of her infection to a July 31 film shoot with San Francisco-based fetish porn company Kink.com.
During that shoot, Bay said, an actor developed a cut on his penis, but cameras kept rolling as the scene with Bay continued to be shot."

But who really knows.

[bluesoul]

But who really knows.

interesting especially considering:

The only scene not shot in LA was her last scene, shot on July 31 for Kink.com in San Francisco, where the company is based. It's also the only time she shot BDSM (Bondage, Domination, Sadism and Masochism) and anal sex.

Bay was told that condoms were optional on that final shoot. She told people on set that she would leave the choice up to her male scene partner. Bay said to HuffPost she didn't think she needed to ask for a condom because her male co-star had a negative STD test. Kink.com confirmed to HuffPost that Bay was offered a condom but it was not used.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...n_3867014.html

[BellaBellucci]

Still #teamcondoms.

~BB~

[Quiet Reflections]

one thing I hate is when people are told time and time again "safety first" and then choose to ignore that advice for whatever reason, only to later contract some illness and start preaching safety like the rest of the world wasn't saying "wrap it up". I don't wish disease on anyone but I don't want to hear shit from people that ignore safety precautions and then have to suffer because of their own stupidity.

[nysprod]

The Huff Post article also said "Bay's last negative HIV test was on July 26, which cleared her to perform until Aug. 26. But she said she decided to get tested early on Aug. 19 because she heard a performer she had worked with had hepatitis C. That's when Bay was blindsided by the news that she had HIV."

Now, I'm not claiming to be any sort of expert regarding HIV but apparently, 30 days between tests doesn't work to protect performers since Bay tested HIV+ just 24 days after her previous negative test.

[nysprod]

one thing I hate is when people are told time and time again "safety first" and then choose to ignore that advice for whatever reason, only to later contract some illness and start preaching safety like the rest of the world wasn't saying "wrap it up". I don't wish disease on anyone but I don't want to hear shit from people that ignore safety precautions and then have to suffer because of their own stupidity.

It's apparently not quite as simple as that:

During her scenes, none of the male performers she had sex with ever used a condom, she said. One female performer told her, "Don't even bring it up because they have somebody waiting to replace you."

"I learned that there's always someone younger and sexier, willing to do something you're not. It's a dog-eat-dog world," Bay said in an exclusive interview with The Huffington Post. "I think we need more choices because of that. Condoms should be a choice."

[Quiet Reflections]

It's apparently not quite as simple as that:

During her scenes, none of the male performers she had sex with ever used a condom, she said. One female performer told her, "Don't even bring it up because they have somebody waiting to replace you."

"I learned that there's always someone younger and sexier, willing to do something you're not. It's a dog-eat-dog world," Bay said in an exclusive interview with The Huffington Post. "I think we need more choices because of that. Condoms should be a choice."

Then she should have let them replace her with a younger sexier girl that doesn't mind the possibility of catching HIV. Porn is still work and it isn't just easy money, the lifestyle weighs heavy on the performers as they age and part of that is deciding if you should gamble with your life or try to book a new shoot that will let you play safe. It is as simple as saying " Hey, stop and put on a condom or im out" she however choose to go along to get along and now she is paying the price.

[TSMichelleAustin]

Even if she got HIV on a set it would be very hard for her to give to her bf! So how did Rod get it??