Page 14 - AVN October 2015

WE’VE GOT ISSUES | | By Mark Kernes
Trolling for Foundation (AHF) announced at a
On September 14, AIDS Healthcare
press conference that it would file
complaints with both Cal/OSHA and
the L.A. County Department of Public
Health against seven adult producers.
This move came as the organization trumpeted
the number of signatures from registered California
voters it had collected and was filing in order to
place its “California Safer Sex in the Adult Film
Industry Act” ballot initiative on the November 2016
presidential ballot. AHF collected a total of 557,136
signatures on its petition, exceeding the necessary
number by 191,256.
While announcing these figures both in its
press release and at a press conference held at the
Sheraton Universal Hotel in Los Angeles, AHF
named the seven adult producers—James Deen
Productings, Brazzers, Zero Tolerance Entertainment,
BurningAngel Entertainment, Evil Angel Video,
Jules Jordan Video—for shooting in Los Angeles on
specific dates and productions allegedly without using
condoms or taking out film permits.
In regard to AHF’s complaints against the seven
producers above, Free Speech Coalition CEO Diane
Duke told AVN, “Anybody can file a complaint against
a company. It takes a lot more to make it stick.”
The seven producers named may not have as much
to worry about as AHF would like them to believe,
as evidenced by the recent final ruling by Cal/OSHA
in the long-running case against gay studio Treasure
Island Media for the same violation.
The FSC issued an initial response to AHF’s
release/press conference decrying a clause of its
proposed measure that states it would impose
“liability on producers for violations, on certain
distributors, on performers if they have a financial
interest in the violating film, and on talent agents
who knowingly refer performers to noncomplying
producers” and permit the state, performers, or “any
state resident to enforce violations.”
Calling the act the “Sue a Porn Star Ballot
Measure” because of this clause, the FSC stated in
its opposing response, “In his zeal to control and
monitor adult film, Michael Weinstein and AIDS
Healthcare Foundation have crafted an outrageous
initiative that would allow any citizen of the state of
California to sue a porn star for not using condoms
on film, and gives them a financial incentive to do so.
The initiative likewise permits private citizens to sue
hotel chains, cable operators and retail outlets for
selling or distributing such films. In an effort to patrol
community morals, Mr. Weinstein’s initiative turns
the state courts into a legalized method of stalking,
harassment and exploitation of adult film stars.”
Reporter Tracy Clark-Flory is one journalist who
Dollars AHF’s ‘Sue a Porn Star’ ballot measure
has commented on this clause, posting an article on
Vocativ.com titled “Porn Stars Vulnerable To Trolling,
Lawsuits Thanks To New Measure,” which notes that
the initiative “empowers everyday citizens to sue
adult film producers for creating condomless porn—
and offers a financial incentive for doing so.” And
as Clark-Flory notes later in the article, that could
include any number of the 38.8 million California
residents, with the initiative guaranteeing that, “if
judgment is entered against one or more defendants
in an action … penalties recovered by the plaintiff
shall be distributed as follows: 75 percent to the State
of California and 25 percent to the plaintiff.”
While it’s true that the adult industry isn’t making
as many hardcore movies per year as it did as recently
as 2008, there’s nothing in the ballot initiative
that limits which adult movies can be the subject
of citizen complaints—or even that it has to be a
movie. It could be simply a scene that was shot in
California and posted on a website, or even a webcam
show originating within the state, since the initiative
defines “filmed” and “filming” as “the recording,
streaming, or real-time broadcast of any adult film.”
Clearly, this is an issue that demands the attention
of performers. One who is paying attention is Ela
Darling, secretary of the Adult Performer Advocacy
Committee, who called in during the AHF press
conference to ask, “How would you address adult
performers who are afraid of the provision that allows
private citizens to sue us for the work that we do?”
Darling asserted, “This would basically allow
stalkers and harassers to sue us.”
Though Weinstein at first told Darling it was
producers who would be sued, he later allowed that
perfomers who are making their own content would
be considered producers. “If they’re not following the
[condom] laws, they’re subject to the same laws as
anybody else,” he said.
After the press conference, Darling told AVN, “I
wondered what Weinstein would say to performers
who are afraid for their safety and privacy because
of the provision that allows anyone to sue us for the
work we do. What would he advise we do when our
harassers and stalkers are given access to our lives
and can sue us for doing our jobs?”
She continued, “Weinstein trumpets his concern
for performer safety while throwing us to the wolves,
and this law would reward him for that work with a
state position that he can’t even be fired from,” she
continued. “I’m very afraid of the ways this would
give access to the people who have harassed me
because of my work. It’s like real-life trolling. The
people who send me nasty emails because they want
the intimacy of an angry response will now be able to
continue that kind of harassment in person and get
paid for it. It’s such an alarming day for porn.”
OCTOBER 2015
14 | AVN.com | 10.15