Porn industry calls for production halt after possible HIV exposure

A trade association for the adult film industry has called for a three-day, industrywide production hold following a report of a possible HIV exposure on an out-of-state film set.

Canoga Park’s Free Speech Coalition called for the halt on Wednesday but did not name the state where the film set was located or the production company.

“As with past production holds, we ask that people refrain from speculation until more news is forthcoming, and respect performer privacy,” Diane Duke, executive director of the Free Speech Coalition, said in a statement.

Duke said the coalition is “working with the public health department, the production company and the performer” to investigate the possible positive exposure.

The Free Speech Coalition said it would announce Friday whether production can resume and whether performers should have additional HIV testing.

The coalition put a two-day moratorium on porn filming in August after receiving a report of a performer testing positive for HIV. The moratorium was lifted after it was determined that the HIV test was a false positive.

“We take the health of our performers very seriously and felt that it was better to err on the side of caution while we determine whether anyone else may have been exposed,” the coalition said then.

Performers are generally required to be tested for sexually transmitted diseases every two weeks when actively performing, according to the Free Speech Coalition. That has not silenced critics, who say the only reliable way to prevent transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases on set is by mandating condom use.

The industry group has vigorously opposed a Los Angeles County law passed in 2012 that mandates condom use by porn actors.

The Free Speech Coalition calls production holds and moratoriums if there is a “possible risk of HIV in the adult film community,” it said in a statement. The production halts “are an important part of the safety protocols in adult film” but do not signal an actual on-set transmission, it said.

According to the Free Speech Coalition, the adult film industry has not seen an on-set transmission of HIV in more than a decade.

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