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Rod Daily has announced to his Twitter followers and the porn industry that he has contracted HIV and will be retiring from the industry. This development makes Daily the second porn star in two weeks to go public about contracting the virus, after Cameron Bay, who is reportedly his girlfriend.
Here are five fast facts you need to know about Rod Daily…
1. Rod Made a Bizarre Announcement About His HIV on Twitter
Drumroll please!! I'm 32 years old and I'm HIV positive. Acute HIV, which means I recently was infected. For that I am blessed
— Rod Daily (@Rod_Daily) September 3, 2013
Daily announced through his Twitter account that he has been diagnosed with HIV. His bizarre tweet comes off strange, but he is celebrating the fact that the virus was caught early and that it’s treatable. He continued explaining his situation through Twitter. He appears to be very optimistic.
I always say you can't retire from porn because there is no 401K so I'm walking away. Hanging up the ol butthole and cock
— Rod Daily (@Rod_Daily) September 3, 2013
I'm blessed for the fact that I caught it so early that I can blast that shit with meds.
— Rod Daily (@Rod_Daily) September 3, 2013
With the tests I have done the doctors have figured out that I was infected within the last month.
— Rod Daily (@Rod_Daily) September 3, 2013
My antibodies just showed up on a test this week which is scary because they didn't a week ago.
— Rod Daily (@Rod_Daily) September 3, 2013
I felt bad for the guy who had to read me my first test result. His face turned to stone, I wanted to give him a hug and say it will be ok
— Rod Daily (@Rod_Daily) September 3, 2013
Thank you everyone for all the support. It lifts me higher.
— Rod Daily (@Rod_Daily) September 4, 2013
2. Daily May Have Given HIV to Cameron Bay, the Other Recently Diagnosed Porn Star
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Daily’s announcement this week makes him the second porn star in less than two weeks to test positive for HIV. Cameron Bay caused a porn industry moratorium on August 22 after Bay’s medical tests turned out positive for HIV. Cutting Edge Testing lab told the performer on that a blood sample drawn on Tuesday came back positive. Bay told AVN that she was “obviously extremely distraught and in disbelief,” and that an additional test will be conducted to confirm the result. It is not believed she contracted the virus on set.
Daily has been linked romantically to Bay on the adult film industry website XBiz.com, according to the Daily Mail. Quuerty.com has reported that Kink.com chief executive Peter Acworth has said that “the strong indication is that Rod contracted it and transmitted it to Cameron Bay.”
3. Daily Has Been Doing Porn For 8 Years
I would like to say thank you to all my fans, followers, and supporters over the last 8 years that I have been apart of this industry.
— Rod Daily (@Rod_Daily) September 3, 2013
Daily has spent 8 years working in the porn industry, and is understandably stepping away from his career.
Daily acted in gay and transsexual sex movies, according to the Daily Mail. Condoms were used in those films, as per U.S. gay porn laws, according to Queerty.com.
4. Rod Daily’s Real Name Is Joshua Rodgers
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Most porn stars act under stage names to hide their identities. Rod Daily, or should I say, Joshua Rodgers is no different. The 32-year-old currently lives in New York. There is no indication on what career path he will take in his post-porn star life.
5. Daily’s Announcement Is Only The Next Benchmark In The Debate Over Condoms In Porn
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For years advocacy groups have been fighting for legislation making condoms mandatory in porn, for reasons directly pointing to situations like Daily’s. California’s AIDS Healthcare Foundation is one of those groups. AHF President Michael Weinstein released a statement in reaction to Daily’s condition, via Daily News.
“After lifting its self-imposed moratorium on shooting last week, the porn industry and the Free Speech Coalition do not have one shred of credibility left with the news now of performer Rod Daily’s acute — i.e. recent — HIV infection. We wish Mr. Daily good health with his newfound sero-status, and know that people can live well with HIV. However, we remain gravely concerned the porn industry continues to endanger its workers by ignoring prudent health and worker safety laws by shooting adult films with out condoms.”
AHF’s opposition, The Free Speech Coalition, argues that industry-wide frequent testing, sharing of information, and moratoriums on production when infections are found has been effective in keeping the industry’s infection rate low, according to Daily News.