Two of America’s biggest porn studios have closed temporarily after a male actor tested positive for HIV.
Wicked Pictures and Vivid Entertainment said production had stopped as a precaution. The name of the actor has not been revealed.
The studios are based in Los Angeles, the hub of America’s porn industry and the headquarters of the Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation, an organization set up to promote good sexual health in the adult industry.
The male actor is said to be a member of the Foundation, and a spokeswoman for the Foundation said attempts were being made to trace and alert other actors who had recent sexual contact with the affected man.
Many of the studios have been criticized for not forcing male actors to wear condoms while having sex, and in August the Aids Healthcare Foundation submitted an official complaint in California against Larry Flynt, one of America’s biggest producers of adult entertainment through his Hustler empire.
Mr Flynt insisted that the lack of condoms reflected “what the consumer wants.”
Wicked Pictures has enforced a condoms policy since 2004.
