Brazilian practices shut down US porn industry

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/04/18/ 
wporn18.xml

"One of America's leading porn stars has blamed lax working practices  
in Brazil for the HIV scare that has brought the multi-billion-dollar  
industry to a halt.

Two performers, Darren James and one of his recent co-stars,  
19-year-old Lara Roxx, were found to be carrying the virus during  
routine health checks last week. Mr James, one of the industry's  
leading performers, is believed to have been infected in Brazil, where  
films can be made more cheaply than in California.

Mary Carey, 27, a porn actress who ran against Arnold Schwarzenegger in  
the California governor contest last year, said: "No other country has  
such strict guidelines as America and now this incident will hopefully  
make porn stars think twice about shooting in other countries.

"Producers want to shoot in places like Brazil because everything is so  
much cheaper, including the girls. But look at the price we are paying  
for it now," she said last night.

The scare has forced the industry, concentrated in the San Fernando  
Valley, over the hills from Hollywood, into a 60-day period of  
professional celibacy while the estimated 1,200 performers undergo  
stringent medical checks.

Jenna Jameson, who earns up to $1 million (£555,000) a year as  
America's top-billed porn star and "most-downloaded" internet  
performer, said last night: "I'm suspending all my movies and I'm not  
working for the 60-day quarantine, and until we can be sure that the  
outbreak is contained.

"We strongly urge the rest of the industry to follow. This is our  
industry and our livelihood," she said, speaking from the offices of  
her ClubJenna production company.

"The fact is that the adult industry as a whole has been remarkably  
free of STDs [sexually transmitted diseases] and HIV, considering that  
sex is what we do for a living. We must do even more to prevent it from  
taking root among performers.""

--
William T Goodall
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Web  : http://www.wtgab.demon.co.uk
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