Porn production halted in US over possible HIV case

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The US porn industry’s leading trade body has called for adult film production to be halted amid fears that an actor has HIV.

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) issued the warning to prevent the potential spread of the virus, after a performer on a database used to protect the health of actors underwent an HIV test.

A statement on the organisation’s website stated that it is calling “for a precautionary production hold after a possible positive test for HIV by an adult performer listed in the PASS database”.

It added that the performer had not worked on a set during the window of transmission and “had not participated in any fluid exchange shoots since their last negative test.”

If the actor’s test is clear the hold will be lifted on Wednesday, according to the FSC.

“Out of an abundance of precaution, are asking that producers stop filming until we are able to confirm all facts. We will also proactively begin partner notification and retest anyone who might have had contact with the performer since their last clear test,” the statement went on.

It also reassured members of the industry that the hold does not mean that the virus has spread, and that an on-set transmission of HIV hasn’t happened for over a decade.

Porn industry rights group The Adult Performer Advocacy Committee supported the halt in production.

“Based on the current genealogy, there is low-risk to the performer pool,” the APAC said in a statement. “APAC will release a statement within the next few days regarding whether the production hold is called off or if a two-week moratorium is necessary," it added.

In the past decade or so, the porn industry in the US has been working to introduce measures to better protect the health and safety of performers, including issuing holds on product. However, in 2016, a law that would have given a Californian health body the power to prosecute porn producers who don’t insist that performers wear condoms failed to pass.

Chanel Preston, a popular performer and APAC chairperson, commented on the hold according to Forbes: "The industry has these shutdowns not because we're not safe, but because we are safe.

"I've gone through multiple shutdowns in seven and a half years in the industry. This is what we're doing. We're following protocols."

The Independent has contacted the FSC for an update on the hold and is awaiting a response.