In a shocking new revelation that has rocked the San Fernando Valley, it was reported last week that the hub of the adult entertainment industry is full of sexually transmitted diseases.
The porn industry news site XBIZ reported that a male performer was diagnosed with syphilis in July, doctored his results to show a negative test, and then spread the venereal disease around during three different scenes.
The performer was originally diagnosed on July 21 and continued to work until Aug. 7, when a movie producer discovered discrepancies in his test results.
“Our first instinct was the safety of the talent,” Shy Love, the actor’s former talent agent at Adult Talent Managers, told XBIZ (the actor has since been nixed from the roster). “We’re not going to hide something because the talent happens to be on our roster. It’s important to make talent aware that there is one positive performer and they should get tested because there is a potential risk right now.”
Several studios have shut down production, and the Free Speech Coalition has called for an industry-wide moratorium until the disease is contained.
The Los Angeles Times reported that L.A. County’s Public Health Department is investigating an outbreak after five performers were diagnosed with syphilis in one week.
According to CNBC, the porn industry doesn’t completely shut down unless a case of HIV is discovered, which happened in 2010 and 2011. One measly case of syphilis doesn’t get any special treatment.
Syphilis, the VD of choice during Shakespearean times, causes lesions on the skin (do not Google it!) and can be fatal if left untreated.
But not to worry, porn connoisseurs: The suspension of filming adult movies probably won’t have an impact on the industry. Movie studios generally have a backlog of films that they can release while riding out the wave of venereal diseases.