Dennis RomeroThe porn industry doesn't need any more cockblocking. Really.
After a syphilis scare this summer, a new city of L.A. law requiring condom-use for on-location shoots and a November ballot measure that could require condom use for adult video productions throughout L.A. county, this business has its work cut out for it.
Then along comes Ronald Baker:
Baker is suing porn production biggie Adult Entertainment Broadcast Network after he says he was fired for failing to inject gay “models” with a substance to keep them erect during shoots, according to this account from Courthouse News Service.
Yeah.
The plaintiff worked as a grip on sets and said he resisted pressure to inject the pharmaceutical compound, TriMix, allegedly without prescriptions, into performers penises until one day in January, when he finally relented, according to AVN's account of the suit.
Credit: istolethetv / Flickr
That was a bad day for Baker, apparently: The suit says he pricked his finger with a syringe, prompting him to get an HIV test. He was clean, but vowed not do it again — not to violate the law, the suit says.
Then he was cut off from pay and benefits around March, the suit says: That, of course, led to emotional distress and, probably, an upcoming request for a lot of cash.
The suit claims models were not screened for STDs, which is the protocol laid down by the mostly L.A.-based industry. However, most gay porn employs condoms.
The filing states:
Defendants require employees, who are not models and are not trained or certified in any manner to give injections, to inject controlled substances for erectile dysfunction using a hypodermic syringe into the model's penis. The model can then maintain an erection for multiple hours in duration, during which time substantial shooting of the film can take place at one time without lengthy breaks to ensure the actor maintains an erection.
Those AEBN subsidiaries named in the suit are San Francisco's Falcon Studios and Raging Stallion Studios, Also named in the suit, according to Courthouse News Service: Data Tech Ventures LLC, Datatech Enterprises LLC c/o Falcon Entertainment, and Datatech Systems LLC.
No word on whether the production went on with or without the alleged boner shots.
[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]
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