Dennis RomeroA male porn performer has reportedly come down with syphilis and might have exposed as many as 15 others, a well known adult industry blogger reported over the weekend.
The scare has yet to generate the kind of headlines inspired by past HIV and syphilis exposures. And the adult video lobbying group Free Speech Coalition is so far silent on the matter. But the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which has spearheaded new rules requiring condom use on porn sets in much of the city and county of L.A., wants an investigation:
The group last night called on the L.A. County authorities “to fully investigate this case.”
It's not clear to us that the male who was reportedly exposed was working in L.A., however. Last we checked “Reality Kings” shoots mostly in Miami:
According to the reports from blogger Mike South (NSFW link), the patient was working for Manwin's “Reality Kings” series when he found out about the syphilis and immediately informed those he worked with.
South says two shoots in progress might have been halted as a list of performers who worked with the patient were notified; two others, South reports, were known only to a production house that was allegedly not helping in tracking them down to inform them of the possible exposure.
Credit: AVN Awards by Nate 'Igor' Smith for LA Weekly.
AHF is particularly concerned that these reported exposures could have happened in L.A. at a time when the county has a new law called Measure B, passed by voters in November and spearheaded by the organization, that mandates condom use on-set in adult video for most of the county.
AHF president Michael Weinstein:
We are calling on County health officials to fully investigate this latest syphilis case and possible outbreak in the adult film industry, a situation we believe could have been prevented if County officials had even bothered to enforce Measure B after it was passed by a clear majority of County voters last fall.
The industry is suing L.A. County's government over the law, claiming it violates freedom of speech by dictating what can be expressed and shown, e.g. condom-free porn, in its products.
It lost a battle to prevent the AHF from defending the law in court (the County decided not to).
See also: Porn Loses 1 Condom Battle, But War Remains.
Perhaps what's most interesting about this latest turn of events, no matter where the Syphilis scare is happening, is that the voters passed a law that, um, so far has no teeth.
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