Porn News

Rod Daily Speaks to the LA Daily News; Free Speech Questioned Authenticity of Daily’s Tweets

Follow Gene Ross at twitter@GeneRoss3; Follow AdultFYI at twitter@Adultfyi1

from www.dailynews.com – A second adult-film performer revealed Tuesday that he has tested HIV positive, two weeks after his girlfriend, who also has worked in the porn industry, said she was infected with the virus.

Joshua Rodgers, 32, who works in gay porn under the stage name Rod Daily, said his doctors determined that he had been infected recently.

“I know it happened last month,” he said in an interview Tuesday with the Daily News. “I know I don’t have a crazy lifestyle.”

Last month, porn actress Cameron Bay said she tested HIV positive, which led to a weeklong shutdown of adult film production across the San Fernando Valley and beyond. Bay has worked in the industry since 2010, but not on a regular basis, her agent has said.

Rodgers has worked exclusively in gay porn since 2010 on sets that require condoms, he said.

He also said he has been dating Bay for more than a year but did not want to draw conclusions on how he was infected.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation, a Los Angeles-based group that has worked aggressively to promote mandatory use of condoms in porn, pointed to the incident as another example of the industry’s failure to police itself.

“After lifting its self-imposed moratorium on shooting last week, the porn industry and the Free Speech Coalition do not have one shred of credibility left with the news now of performer Rod Daily’s acute — i.e. recent — HIV infection,” AHF President Michael Weinstein said in a written statement.

“We wish Mr. Daily good health with his newfound sero-status, and know that people can live well with HIV. However, we remain gravely concerned the porn industry continues to endanger its workers by ignoring prudent health and worker safety laws by shooting adult films with out condoms.”

The Free Speech Coalition, the Canoga Park-based trade group that represents the industry, had called for the moratorium last month after Bay’s test result, then lifted it after doctors concluded that all performers who worked with Bay were cleared for HIV.

The group has argued that the industry’s regimen of frequent testing, sharing of information and moratoriums on production has effectively kept the industry’s rate of infection relatively low.

The coalition said it is not yet prepared to halt production again until there is more information. The coalition also questioned the validity of statements posted to Rodgers’ Twitter account declaring his positive diagnosis, saying it had not received its own confirmation by him, but Rodgers said in the Daily News interview that the messages were authentic.

“There is not a determination at this time that leads us to call for another moratorium,” the coalition said. “That decision is in the hands of our medical advisory board, which will review all of the most recent information.”

“Beyond that, all we can say is that if the Twitter postings are in fact legitimate, that our thoughts are with Rod Daily and we urge him to immediately seek medical consultation. We can assist him in this area if he reaches out to us directly.”

Both the coalition and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said they have not received confirmations of another HIV infection in the industry.

Rodgers said in the interview that he was tested at a private clinic in Arizona.

Rodgers’ status comes at a time when the adult-film industry and AHF continue to be at odds over the use of condoms during shoots. Last year, AHF introduced and supported the L.A. County Measure B — the “Safer Sex Initiative” — that mandates that condoms be used on all adult-film sets to prevent sexually transmitted diseases from spreading from the industry to the mainstream public. Voters passed the measure in November.

The adult film industry largely opposes mandatory condom use because they say viewers who turn to porn to watch sexual fantasy would be turned off.

But a Los Angeles federal judge last month upheld the AHF’s argument that condoms should be used in the interest of public health.

Meanwhile, state inspectors last week toured San Francisco based Kink.com, where Bay last worked.

“On Wednesday, two Cal/OSHA inspectors visited and initiated a inspection, after a complaint filed by AHF against Kink.com,” said company founder Peter Acworth. Inspectors spent several hours at the studios.

“The complaint was not based on any actual issues from that shoot, but was filed by the AHF as part of their larger objection to the industry in general,” Acworth said in a statement. “Regardless, performer safety is not an issue to be taken lightly, and we were happy to take Cal/OSHA into (the studios) and discuss our safety protocols, which are some of the most stringent in the industry.”

Rodgers said he supports the use of condoms on set and said he was disappointed the moratorium was lifted so soon after Bay came forward.

“Condoms save you,” he said. “But I can’t point any fingers at anybody. I’m here now. This is what I have to live with.”

541 Views

Related Posts

Brad Bronton to Appear at X3

Dec 25, 2024 3:00 PM PSTLOS ANGELES — Brad Bronton will appear at the X3 Expo in January. “Super excited to be a part of the upcoming expo,” said Bronton. “A bit of a country mouse cammer heading to the…

AVN Opens Talent RSVPs for 2025 Awards Show

AVN Media Network formally invites 2025 AVN Awards nominees and other adult industry talent to submit their requests through the now-active Talent RSVP Site for passes to the 42nd annual AVN Awards Show, presented by MyFreeCams.

Daisy Diva Stars in Latest From TheFlourishXXX

Dec 24, 2024 4:22 PM PSTLOS ANGELES — Daisy Diva stars alongside Ace Bigs in the new scene from TheFlourishXXX, titled "Daisy Tricks Ace to Come in Looking for His Friend." According to a rep, the scene finds Ace Bigs…

Aubrey Kate Receives XMA Nod

Dec 23, 2024 4:07 PM PSTLOS ANGELES — Aubrey Kate has received a nomination for Fav Trans Creator at the 2025 XMA Awards. “It’s been an amazing year, packed with accomplishment and new ventures,” said Kate. “Winning the XBIZ Fan…

Brazzers Announces ‘Wet Hot Indian Wedding’ Limited Series

Brazzers on Monday announced the release of Wet Hot Indian Wedding, a four-part series starring Aaliyah Yasin, Suraya Ndia, Candy Scott, Bilbo Shaggins, Danny D and Xander Corvus.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.