LOS ANGELES—Free Speech Coalition announced Friday it is not yet calling an industry-wide or regional production hold due to the coronavirus situation.
Their statement follows:
We are in full support of the producers and studios that have suspended production, and encourage others to do the same should they feel it is warranted. However, with the wide variety of production, including self-produced and custom content, and the lack of a specific COVID-19 risk to performers, we are not yet issuing a blanket ban.
When FSC has called a production hold in the past, we have shut down all on-set sexual activity, no matter where produced or with whom, in order to stop further transmission of HIV or another STI within the performer pool. Coronavirus, while serious, is not specific to adult production.
While we are monitoring public health departments, we do not believe that a mandatory production hold is warranted at this time. We are wary of cutting off performers’ ability to generate income by prematurely restricting their ability to work while risk is low—especially with the potential for a longer and larger business shutdown looming. Cutting off performers from the PASS testing system has the potential to more negatively impact the health of our community than the current risk of exposure.
We are asking that performers and producers who continue to shoot be incredibly vigilant and take common-sense precautions, including educating performers and crew about prevention, limiting the size of sets, and discontinuing air travel whenever possible.
We strongly encourage everyone to follow all recommendations from local public health agencies and the CDC regarding coronavirus prevention. Do not take chances with your health and the health of others. Whether you are a performer, producer or crew member, only you can make the decision as to whether continuing to work is right for you.
We may call a production hold in the future, as circumstances continue to change.
Two examples of situations we are monitoring that could result in a production hold:
Production hubs like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco, and Miami: If the public health agency or local government in one of those hubs takes extreme measures to lock down the area to prevent the spread of the virus, we will call a production hold in that region, in accordance with those orders.
Reports of infection among performers: If we receive reports of performers infected with coronavirus, we will investigate those the same way we investigate a PASS test panel that comes back with a result of not clear. That investigation could lead to a production hold that is either regional or national.
Alert us immediately at [email protected] if you or someone you have had contact with tests positive for the coronavirus. Your information can be kept private.
For additional information, contact your local public health officials.
