Message from Chi Chi LaRue...

Recently I have been bombarded with interview requests for me to comment on “barebacking in the porn industry”. It's kinda funny because everyone knows exactly what I am going to say...nonetheless, I decided it was time to make my own statement about what is going on.

When I moved to LA in 1987 and took a job in promotions at Catalina Video, the AIDS crises was in full swing. I lobbied hard to William Higgins and John Travis of Catalina and Chuck Holmes at Falcon to get condoms on the models. I would like to think that some of my persuasion helped make condom movies a reality. Since then, gay porn has helped lead the way in showing gay men how to use condoms, how to have safer sex and removed some of the stigma that was associated with condoms at the time.

The first feature movie I ever directed, FLEXXX, was in 1987, it was a condom feature and every single movie that I have directed since then has also used condoms. I say this again because just recently I read an interview with a barebacking proponent who said I used to make unsafe sex videos in the early days of my career and was therefore a hypocrite. Not true. Another “hypocritical” tidbit I found amusing was that my company sells pre-condom titles and that basically I am selling bareback product and promoting unsafe sex. I guess the BIGGEST difference is that selling pre-condom titles ISN'T putting the health of models at risk.....HELLO. For those of you that don't know, the term pre-condom refers to porn made prior to the AIDS crises. I guess if that makes me a hypocrite than I am one. I guess I don't equate pre-condom titles as “bareback.” That term didn't exist when these porn classics were created. There was no serious reason for gay men to wear condoms. My critics also accuse me of not giving gay men the credit to distinguish between fantasy and reality. That younger gay guys who didn't have all their friends die, who didn't see deathly ill gay men at the grocery store, and aren't bombarded with AIDS messages on the news daily can watch barebacking porn and it doesn't affect their behavior. Like I said in my PSA I think that is true for some people. I also say if that is your argument then you certainly can't claim that viewers can't realize that pre-condom titles were filmed in another era before HIV.

I am certainly NOT saying that barebacking movies are solely responsible for the huge increase in HIV infections. I think a lot of factors are at play. I think drug companies want us to think that HIV is just a simple and manageable condition. They never mention that a 1 year supply of medication starts at $25,000! I think the lack of real sex education, thanks to our current conservative regime, is a factor. Let's not forget the rampant drug abuse in the gay community, which is definitely a factor. I also think gay men are really just tired of talking and hearing about it! But we can't stop talking about it...I think what we are seeing is a result of too many people being way too silent!

When I first started seeing barebacking titles appear, of course I was disappointed and very outspoken. The fact is that it was pretty obvious to most that the models “appeared” to be HIV+ and were having unsafe sex with what “appeared” to be other HIV+ models. Again not something I have ever heard was recommended, but in any case, it is something that does seem to be more readily practiced in the gay community. What we are seeing now is drastically different. We are seeing movies with 18 year old twinks being gang banged without condoms. We are seeing...20 year oldS in the UK who haVE reportedly become HIV+ after making their first porn.

I have always promoted on my sets the same thing that I feel every gay man should practice in his personal life. ASSUME EVERYONE YOU ARE HAVING SEX WITH IS HIV+. Some companies say that they test their models, which just gives a false sense of security. There is no way to 100%protect the health of models by testing only. What if the test was taken a day before the persons HIV became detectable. What if the model caught HIV a day after he was tested? Unfortunately, this way of thinking is why I had to quit working in the straight industry. I walked away from a lucrative contract with Vivid Video when they decided to go “condom optional” so don't ever say I don't put my money where my mouth is!

The fear I have is that when we are silent and choose to ignore issues as serious as this, then perhaps barebacking in porn will just keep increasing like HIV infection rates. Then more and more models will be sucked into putting their health at risk to make porn!

I would like to thank those around me that have helped put this PSA together. Thank you Steven Walker for your amazing videography and lighting. Thank you Tashi Palmer for the amazing music you scored for this PSA and your photography. Thank you Rob Novinger for helping get this all pulled together. Thanks to all 3 of you for all your ideas. Thanks to CH for your incredible editing. Thanks to Doug Jeffries and to all the models who participated to create the great images used in this PSA. Thanks to many of you out there that helped gather stats and other information that we all need to talk about! Thanks to all of you for listening to this crazy drag queen's ramblings! Now WRAP IT UP!