Derrick Burts, 24, an adult film actor, identified himself to the Los Angeles Times as the performer who tested HIV positive at the Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation in Sherman Oaks in October. He had previously been known as Patient Zeta. Burts, who performed in straight films as Cameron Reid and gay films as Derek Chambers, described the panicked call he got from clinic staff on Oct. 9 about the infection that sent fears through California’s adult industry.
Burts said he believed he may have contracted the disease during a gay porn shoot in Florida. Burts said the clinic promised to put him in touch with a doctor affiliated with the clinic and vowed to arrange for his follow-up care. But no one called him back and when he contacted the clinic, he received no response for two months, Burts said.
In frustration, he said he went to an AIDS Healthcare Foundation center in Los Angeles on Nov. 24 but didn’t identify himself as Patient Zeta. Burts said he was pleased with the care he received there and contacted the head of the organization last week and identified himself as Patient Zeta. He said he wanted to speak out in favor of enforcing mandatory condom use in porn productions.
Burts grew up in Whittier and Hemet and graduated from Hemet High School and a hotel management school in Florida, according to the Times. He worked as a hotel manager and cruise ship magician before becoming a performer in the lucrative porn industry.
He now said he wishes he had known more about the risks of contracting sexually transmitted diseases in the industry. He also called for mandatory condom use in porn films and better health monitoring for performers.
“Making $10,000 or $15,000 for porn isn’t worth your life,” he told the Times. “Performers need to be educated.”