AIDS Advocates Demand Larry Flynt’s Adult Film Label Use Condoms
AIDS advocates on Thursday held a rally at Larry Flynt's Beverly Hills, Calif., adult film and magazine production company, calling on him to "set a good example" by requiring condom use in his pornographic films, the Los Angeles Times reports. About 20 AIDS advocates chanted, "Hey, hey, ho, ho, unsafe porn has got to go!" and carried large colored condoms and signs saying, "Latex now, Larry" (Liu, Los Angeles Times, 6/18). Five adult film actors in April and May tested HIV-positive, and four of the cases have been linked. Following the detection of the first two cases, more than 50 performers who may have had unprotected sex with one of the actors or one of their onscreen partners agreed to a voluntary work quarantine. About 12 companies agreed to a production moratorium until HIV testing of the actors was completed, according to industry experts (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 6/7). Before the outbreak, only 17% of performers used condoms, according to the Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation. Even after the outbreak, only 23% of performers are using condoms, the Times reports (Los Angeles Times, 6/18). "We don't need any more patients. The recent outbreak in the adult film industry is an indication that the testing methods, which we think are very good, are not sufficient to protect the actors," AIDS Healthcare Foundation President Michael Weinstein said (Watercutter, AP/CNN.com, 6/17). "As the most prominent member of the adult film community ... if he were to agree to use condoms in his films, we believe the rest of the industry would follow," Weinstein added. Flynt through a representative declined to comment, according to the Times (Los Angeles Times, 6/18). However, Flynt in an April 23 Los Angeles Times opinion piece said that market testing of films that show actors wearing condoms indicate they "don't sell" (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 4/23).
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