News: Titan Exec Pens Open Letter On BB Biz

Following director Michael Lucas’s comments yesterday regarding porn star Johnny Hanson’s decision to do a bareback scene, Keith Webb, vice president of San Franciso-based Titan Media, has sent an e-mail to numerous journalists and industry insiders commending Lucas for his actions. “Thank you for having the courage to speak out when you see hypocrisy and irresponsibility going on within the industry,” Webb writes. “The unspoken truth is that most all of the performers in U.S.A.-produced gay bareback films are HIV-positive. Everyone within the industry knows this, but they are not willing to admit it publicly. Why else would someone be willing to take 50 loads up his ass?”

In the open letter, Webb offers suggestions and calls for changes within the gay bareback part of the business. “At the very least the producers of these films should be honest and place a warning screen at the beginning of each clip/film advising that the performers are HIV-positive and have chosen to work without condoms because of their HIV status,” he writes. “This would at least help the community and people watching the films to better understand the high-risk behavior they are viewing and help them make more informed and better decisions about their own sexual practices.”

The performer-turned-executive goes on to discuss the common practices that take advantage of twink performers in poorer eastern European countries, where there is little if any HIV/AIDS education. “Many of them just need the money and will perform bareback for an extra $100 to $200. Many of these kids are ‘straight’ or bi and think that as long as they don’t perform with self-identified and openly gay performers that they are safe and will not get HIV.”

Webb says that he thinks people are afraid to talk openly about barebacking in films because they fear the ramifications from Cal/OSHA, an organization responsible for enforcing California laws pertaining to workplace safety and health, and other governmental agencies. “What Cal/OSHA and the others are seeing is that the bareback part of the gay industry is not doing any formalized testing and is not using condoms,” Webb writes. “This looks irresponsible and potentially illegal from their viewpoint.”

In closing, Webb notes that there is a lot of “irresponsible and repugnant behavior going on within the gay adult industry these days. It is our responsibility as leaders within this industry to shine the light upon these behaviors and practices when we see them. We all need to stand up and hold people accountable for their actions as their actions reflect upon everyone within the industry.”