HIV+ Porn Actor: Make Condoms Mandatory

The porn actor who tested positive for HIV this fall is going public and calling for mandatory condom use for the entire porn industry. Derrick Burts—previously known only as Patient Zeta—says the industry's stance that testing for STDs is sufficient is "completely false," adding that he had previously tested positive for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and herpes in his monthslong career. The 24-year-old, who worked in both gay and straight porn, thinks he contracted the virus in a gay porn shoot; he notes that gay films require condoms for sex, but not oral sex.

Burts says the industry's health clinic is now claiming he was infected due to personal activity, although the only person he had sex with outside filming was his girlfriend, a fellow performer who is not infected. Burts says he wishes he had known more about the risks. "Making $10,000 or $15,000 for porn isn't worth your life," he tells the Los Angeles Times, calling the industry "dangerous." "Performers need to be educated." (More HIV stories.)