Last week Los Angeles County health officials announced a porn actress tested positive for HIV, creating a huge panic and public relations nightmare for the adult industry. Since then it has been revealed "at least 16 additional unpublicized cases of HIV have been confirmed in adult film performers" in straight porn. The new cases bring renewed scrutiny to the $12-billion-a-year industry's long history of resisting regulation and condom use.
Popular adult performer Darren James—described as "well-endowed and extremely muscular performer for his slender frame"—tested positive for HIV in April 2004 and found himself "at the center of an HIV outbreak in the San Fernando Valley's multibillion-dollar porn industry", reports the Los Angeles Times. James infected three actresses he had worked with before learning that he was HIV-positive and porn production was shut down for a month. The former porn actor speaks out for the first time some five years later.
By April 2004, he was at the pinnacle of his career, traveling to foreign countries to shoot films, sometimes working six days a week and two or three scenes a day. "You're like Superman. Especially with the amount of work that I had? It was nonstop," James said. "I'm thinking, I'm invincible. . . . That's just the way our mentality was. It was, you get the test, you're clean, not realizing that in between the tests, and after the tests, you know, other people, you don't know what they're doing."
The call that changed his life came as James was getting ready to book tickets to Japan for another international shoot. The Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation clinic officials told him he was HIV positive. And, he said, they told him they planned to release his name publicly. He asked them not to—in part out of concern for his parents who did not know how he made his living—but they did anyway. "It was like a hit in the gut," James said. "My whole world stops. . . .Life was pretty much over."
Distraught, James said, he bought a bus ticket to Tijuana, planning to disappear. But the news spread quickly. In Mexico, he saw TV footage with a photo of him smirking as if, he said, he was smirking at the situation. In Tijuana, James said, he tried to kill himself. After the attempt, he woke up days later in a hospital near San Diego. It took him months to recover, he said. He later found out that his mother learned about his diagnosis, and his porn career, on TV at her church.
The former porn actor sued the Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation clinic and several of its officials, alleging medical negligence and invasion of privacy. The case was later settled out of court. Darren James is sharing his story now and hopes it will spur "the porn industry to require condoms, rarely used in straight porn films."
Don't see that happening anytime soon. Do you?
condoms in straight porn=not gonna happen
Posted by: Freddy | 19 June 2009 at 15:48
I doubt any change will come to this. The notion that AIDS is a gay disease is probably in the minds of many Hetero porn actors and the Hetero porn industry in general.
This is proof AIDS is not soley the "gay" disease.
Posted by: Kevin Perez | 19 June 2009 at 15:54
I remember this story. Wow.
"Well-endowed and extremely muscular performer for his slender frame" is understatement, he was Energizer bunny.
But good deal he is speaking out.
Posted by: Shane Moseley | 19 June 2009 at 15:56
The crazy thing is, FREDDY, in many other country's (straight) porn industry they do use condoms. The American straight porn makers refuse.
Posted by: Derrick from Philly | 19 June 2009 at 15:57
So they have had 16 cases of porn stars catching HIV since then? And only now want to talk about it?
Posted by: Raheem | 19 June 2009 at 16:00
tragic!
i am glad he sued
whenever i hear of a porn star getting aids i think of two things:
1. how long and accurate is their long sexual contact list?
2. how many of their intimate peers panic and run to the clinic as soon as they hear the news?
may god bless him
peace
ab
Posted by: alicia banks | 19 June 2009 at 16:40
Wow, what a life's story, its just a shame that so many in that industry won't listen to what he says in 2009.
Posted by: Luther | 19 June 2009 at 16:53
OMG!!! I'm so saddend and shocked by this!!! I was just watching one of his movies on this porn site on my iPhone just yesterday!!! This is crazy' but not a shock to me" he did alot of thoese anal creampie movies with thoese loose booty wild women. He was so phine dang man!!!
It seems like Raw sex "Straight or Gay" is the new thing to do even though everyone getting infected left and right.... No thanks" I love my life and want to live to 100. 5-10 minutes of me humping some dude without protection is not worth laying up in some hospital all skin and bones and no one to blame but my self. I have a bag full of rubbers and I will use them nice & safely.
Everyone please rap it up" even though that's been said a million times and no one listens.
Posted by: Miami mike | 19 June 2009 at 17:29
Darren, I congratulate you on your win. They clearly violated the HIPPA law and regardless of the business you are entitled to your privacy.
The american strait porn industry did try using condoms back in the 1990's. As you can no doubt guess sales dropped but when they were off by %60 they had to face reality and give the audience what they wanted.
The porn industry is in big trouble now due to the economy. I have noticed a lot of gay porn featuring black porn stars are not new but recycled stuff mixing two or three scenes from different companies on one DVD.
I am glad you sued their asses and I am sure your book will be released soon, or at least I hope you write one. We already heard from Bobby Blake so why not you?
Just think people. Finally we will know why no closeups of Brian Pumper or that cute, little bouncy butt Nathan Threat asses are allowed. Nathan Threats butt is so cute the producers have to know if it is ever shown in full he will have to shoot a queen if he walks on the street alone because they won't quit following him.
The two or three of Brian Pumper that got by the editor sure made me sit up and take notice and think better of his "strait" image.
LOL the tales Darren can tell. Who would know better?? Pump it while you can Derrick, or have you already done that to him?? HMMMM
Posted by: gurlene | 19 June 2009 at 18:08
This is an ominous foreshadowing of what's to come in the black gay porn industry with all of this barebacking.
Barebacking is a choice that a lot of people make but so is playing Russian Roulette. I'm not having it. I'm not getting it.
Posted by: FREELEO | 19 June 2009 at 18:22
What Freeleo said.
Posted by: Price | 19 June 2009 at 18:53
I have never heard of him or this unfortunate story. I'm reading up on online and it seems it was quite the scandal at the time. Glad to see he is getting his life together.
Posted by: Willie | 19 June 2009 at 19:46
Ummm, this was a big story back in 2004. Rumors were rampant that this guy picked up AIDS from a tranny in Brazil (as opposed to the Brazilian porn actress he claims to have gotten it from). I believe the rumors.
Posted by: David Cassidy | 19 June 2009 at 20:06
It's a shame that he had to find out the hard way, but at least he is learning from his past mistakes while hoping others will do the same.
Posted by: kayman | 19 June 2009 at 20:13
Freeleo, you are absolutely correct. Gay porn was the leader in condom usage, but now that has been going south. And I know for a fact several gay porn stars don't practice safe sex in their personal lives either.
Posted by: Ravenback | 19 June 2009 at 20:15
@ Ravenback:
Oh let's not even get started on that one. I know quite a few black gay porn actors who don't use condoms when they are off the set...
But this mirrors larger story in our black gay community, that many of us do not use condoms. That is why our HIV rates are so high.. While I don't agree or appreciate bareback porn... I find it totally false to blame the HIV rates on bareback porn. The black gay HIV rates have increased year after year. It's simplistic (sp?) to assume people mimic what they see in a movie, but if that were the case...then HIV rates would be astronomically high among str8 men since str8 porn is bareback. But that's not the case.
Posted by: Dalton | 19 June 2009 at 20:27
It underscores that an HIV test cannot replace a condom.
Posted by: Ravenback | 19 June 2009 at 22:15
this is fascinating.
surprised only 22 straight performers have tested positive in five years.
i am sure the number is much higher with gay porn stars. higher and higher with bgm porn stars.
good luck to this man
Posted by: Dante | 19 June 2009 at 22:52
This, I believe, is what is known a "cautionary tale".
Posted by: Zach | 19 June 2009 at 23:45
I remember this story when it first broke several years ago. Didn't know that he tried to kill himself. How horrible the way that his mother found out too. But yeah the lack of condom use in straight and gay porn is a money maker lets face it. Everyone would prefer NOT to use a condom if we didn't have STDS and HIV so its a turn on to watch it in porn.
It does seem like there is an increase of creampie and bareback movies in gay and straight porn. And yeah those Flava or CocoDorm boys from what I understand need to really be putting an umbrella on it. There's all kinds of stories about HIV use in that porn company. Its just all very discouraging. I think that because AIDS is not a death sentence anymore and you can take meds to live a long time with it, people just aren't taking as many precautions. The ads don't help though. You usually see some good looking muscular person who is living with HIV, but what the poster doesn't tell you is all the damn medication he has to take, and the side effects from many of those meds.
Posted by: Ron | 20 June 2009 at 12:32
Condoms should be required in all adult films. Barebacking sets a bad example.
Posted by: libhomo | 20 June 2009 at 18:08