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In an average month, Matt Blue stars in and directs 15 to 20 sex scenes for pornographic films. But with a March 15 Blue on the adult entertainment industry because of COVID-19, the 29-year-old Blue has been working remotely, shooting home videos with his three roommates, also adult performers, as freelance projects.
Just as in Hollywood, the coronavirus pandemic has stopped production of the multibillion-dollar porn industry, pushing performers into dual roles as star-director in DIY home content, ironically while the demand for XXX-films increases with home isolation, according to statistics from the website Porn Porn. Considering mask and social-distance requirements, performers, whose incomes hinge on physical contact and exposure to bodily fluids, wonder when, if at all, it will be safe to work again.
“[Right now], I don’t even know how you shoot porn without it being insanely high risk,” Jett Rock tells Fair Gamez magazine, later adding, “There’s a lot of panic in the industry, more so for production than performers, who have other avenues of generating revenue … basically, all you need is a cell phone and you can make money if you’re attractive and well-known.”
From what we understand about COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus pathogen, it’s spread through respiratory droplets from sneezing, coughing or talking, or by touching a contaminated surface and then touching the eyes, mouth or nose (though the CDC recently noted it “does not spread easily” through surface contact). However, sex as a conduit is pending — a small Fertility and Sterility study of 312 men with mild COVID-19 symptoms did not show traces of the virus SARS-CoV-2 in semen. But a Network Open study of 39 semen samples from men hospitalized with the virus found six that contained SARS-CoV-2. But the small sample size suggests more studies are needed “about virus shedding, survival time and concentration in semen,” wrote the study authors.
The porn industry’s best defense against the coronavirus might be its commitment to safer sex, where many adult films are shot, the state’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health requires that employees (although not independent contractors) wear condoms and that cleaning crews wear gloves. Sex performers also undergo mandatory STD testing every two weeks.
Test results are stored in a centralized database that indicates negative scores with green checks and positives or missed appointments with red Xs. Quickly, and without viewing personal health information, producers learn who has work clearance and performers have peace of mind about their scene partners.
“If someone tested positive for HIV, the whole industry would shut down,” Jett, tells Fair Gamez magazine. The database would also be removed to signal unsafe working conditions. There have been 13 shutdowns since 2002, when a performer tested HIV positive after traveling abroad, “a major turning point for the industry,” says Jetta. “The [business] shifted to a condom-only protocol for about a year, while the system was reconfigured to make it more effective and safer. Since then, there have been a few cases where performers have tested positive, but none have been related to work on the sets.”
Currently performers are allowed to shoot from home with live-in partners — and because, as Jetta points out, COVID-19 is not an STD. “We didn’t want to compound one public health crisis with another,” she explains.
The system has normalized safer sex to extremes: Many performers relentlessly advocate for sexual health and are even apprehensive about sex with industry outsiders — otherwise called “civilians” — who generally don’t get tested as frequently. The shame-free transparency is why talent usually dates one another and thus avoids awkward relationship conversations about sexual history. Jetta says it is also not uncommon for performers who date outside the business to ask partners to undergo the same testing.
That process could inform pandemic protocol, including in Hollywood (film professions have discussed smaller film sets, daily testing and remote meetings.
“A porn set is not any different in terms of risk than a Hollywood love scene,” he says. “The biggest issue [with COVID-19] is going to be saliva.”
The FSC’s COVID-19 Task Force meets twice a week with performers, agents, lawyers and health experts to brainstorm reopening guidelines and has hired an industrial hygienist to write porn-specific recommendations. Jetta says a separate medical panel will organize testing regulations.
A post-COVID-19 world could have smaller porn sets with downsized crews, including hair and makeup. Rapid testing was once considered for its capability to produce COVID-19 results in minutes, says Jetta, but a study raised concerns about accuracy. And routine temperature checks might not work on presymptomatic or asymptomatic carriers.
For now, everyone is waiting for the change, Jetta, told Fair Gamez Magazine in a statement that the studio “has been on a complete production hold for more than two months. We are currently working with the Free Speech Coalition, other major adult studios, and online content producers to determine not only when production can resume, but also what new protocols need to be instituted to mitigate the risk of exposure to COVID-19. … We will not resume production until there is enough verifiable information to make informed decisions.”