Adult film sets throughout the
Los Angeles area have shut down
indefinitely after a porn actress tested
positive for HIV, the trade association for
the industry said on Thursday.
The actress, who works under the name
Cameron Bay, has contracted the virus that
causes AIDS, the Free Speech Coalition said
in a press release.
The trade group said film producers called a
moratorium on production late on
Wednesday and that filming would not
resume until all of Bay's partners are
notified and tested.
The incident comes amid continued
opposition on the part of many companies
that produce adult films to a recently
enacted law in Los Angeles County that
requires porn actors to use condoms on the
set.
The multibillion-dollar adult film industry
is centered in the San Fernando Valley area
of Los Angeles.
Michael Weinstein, head of the Los Angeles-
based AIDS Healthcare Foundation and a
backer of the condom law, said he suspects
that Bay contracted the virus on a set.
Last month, he said, the actress tested
negative for HIV, and this month, she tested
positive. In one film that she worked on
between the tests, it appears that condoms
were not used, Weinstein said.
"It's a tragedy for her," he said. "Obviously
she was infected by someone."
The industry group said there was "no
evidence whatsoever" that Bay was infected
on a set, or that others were exposed to the
virus while performing sex scenes with her.
Bay said she planned to cooperate with
public health officials as they try to track
down her sex partners to find out who
might have infected her, and whether she
infected anyone.
"As difficult as this news is for me today, I
am hopeful that no other performers have
been affected," Bay said in a statement. "I
plan on doing everything possible to assist
the medical professionals and my fellow
performers."
So sad now her career is going down the drain plus there is a possibility that she will be discriminated against here current status.
