FSC: Production Hold Extended Through Thursday Morning

CANOGA PARK, Calif.—The following announcement has been received from Free Speech Coalition, which manages the PASS performer availability system, and deals with the recent production hold: We have now received the majority of first-generation tests from the individuals who had contact—on-set or off-set—with the reactive performer. So far, these tests have all come back negative. We are still waiting on results for several contacts who retested late yesterday. We will not have those results until Thursday morning, August 30. If those results are negative as well, the PASS medical professionals leading the investigation will evaluate whether there is any existing risk to the performer pool. If there is not, we may be able to lift the production hold as soon as tomorrow. All PASS performers who had contact with the performer over  the past sixty days, as well as many personal and non-PASS contacts within that period, have now been tested. Until we have all test results back, we cannot make a definitive declaration, but it does not appear that the transmission was related to a PASS-affiliated set. However, before we lift the production hold, it is essential that we are able to establish the integrity and safety of the PASS performer pool. We understand that production holds are difficult and stressful for both performers and producers. For the performer in question, and the first-generation contacts, the stress and emotional strain is exponentially greater. We understand that there is a natural inclination to want to know who the affected performer is. But as a community and often-times quasi-family of performers, producers, and advocates, it’s also important to remember how hard we fight for our privacy. We know more than any other population how rumors, stigma and blame hurt rather than help. We ask for compassion for our fellow performers who are currently awaiting test results, and to respect the privacy of the performer with the original positive test. (Please know that if you were a first-generation contact—meaning that you had contact on-set or off-set with the performer—you have already been contacted by FSC-PASS. If you haven’t been contacted, we do not believe you were at risk.) Once the production hold is lifted, FSC-PASS will then announce whether or not performers will need to retest in order to be listed as available in PASS. Until that determination is made, we advise anyone who has not otherwise been contacted NOT to retest. The Free Speech Coalition periodically calls production holds if there is a possible HIV exposure within the adult film community. Production holds are an important part of the safety protocols in adult film, but does not signal an actual on-set transmission, nor a confirmed positive test. The adult film industry has not seen an on-set transmission of HIV on a PASS-regulated set in over a decade.