STUDIO FINED OVER BAREBACK SCENES

A gay adult film studio in the US has been fined $21,470 for shooting scenes with actors who did not wear condoms.

Treasure Island Media, which specialises in ‘bareback’ films, was found to be in contravention of California’s workplace safety regulations.

“Employees were exposed to semen and other potentially infectious materials, due to work activities during filming and set cleaning,” said the California Department of Industrial Relations in a report on the studio.

It added: “Treasure Island Media does not observe universal precautions during the production of their films. They have not instituted engineering and work practices controls to eliminate or minimise contact with blood and semen, including, but not limited to, the use of barrier protection such as condoms.”

In late October, Treasure Island Media announced that it had exclusively signed two performers in a relationship – Brad McGuire, who is HIV negative, and James Roscoe, who is HIV positive – to appear in its barebacking films as a couple.

“We are adults and we are participating in a tremendously vital and important sexual culture that is under attack,” said the studio’s founder Paul Morris, who described McGuire and Roscoe as role models for young people. “We know exactly what we’re doing, and we will not allow reactionary individuals and organisations to dictate our behaviour.”

The company has appealed the fine, with a hearing expected on the matter early next year.