When a porn shoot turns into sexual assault

[jsunpdx]

Hi all. Sorry if this post is a bit of a downer but I'm wondering if anyone might have any ideas or advice about an issue a friend has been dealing with. My friend used to shoot scenes here and there with Treasure Island Media. About 10 years ago, he filmed the last scene of his porn career when the video shoot basically turned into sexual assault. He was extremely intoxicated, to the point where he believes he wasn't able to consent to continue. The scene was brutal and abusive and for years he had no memory of the events themselves, just the way they made him feel.

At first, it didn't seem like the scene was going to be released but then a few weeks after filming, he received a call asking where to send the check. He was homeless at the time and although he was horrified that the worst experience of his entirely life was going to be released on video for people to jerk off to, he didn't feel like he had the option to say no. After all, he had signed a contract.

All these years later, the video is still available to purchase and stream online and just a month ago he finally watched it. It was horrifying. It was abusive, completely lacking in any joy or kindness. This is a video of a man who was going thru the most difficult period of his life being raped while people with cameras facilitated his on-screen sexual assault. He used to think people thought it was acting but this past year he received messages from a couple guys online letting him know that they were horrified at what they saw when they chanced upon that scene.

He keeps bringing up wanting to take legal action but he doesn't know if it's been too long. I imagine not since it's still available for purchase. But the main thing neither of us has been able to come up with any idea about is how to even go about taking Treasure Island to court. What sort of attorney would even take a case like that?

Seeing the video recently only made him more convinced that what happened to him was a crime and he would like to hold the people involved responsible and have them answer for what they've done. If anyone has any ideas, please send me a message or reply here. We would both appreciate anything you may have to say to help him move forward with what he wants to do.

[Pozguyinchi]

I’m not a lawyer but it seems to me pressing charges may be difficult. Proving he was intoxicated and when he became intoxicated may be hard. I think we have all gotten ourselves into situations that were not comfortable and probably border on assault but it sounds like the media company followed protocol. Maybe his best way of dealing with this is becoming an advocate for other young boys entering into the industry?

Edited September 28, 2021 by Pozguyinchi

[seaguy]

Blue Bailey the porn star is an attorney in real life [think before following links] https://www.queerclick.com/qc/2021/02/former-porn-star-blue-bailey-is-now-practicing-law-as-stephan-ferris.php You might want to try contacting him for advice?

[seaguy]

Sounds like one of Fucktard aka Jay Elliott's scenes.

[ErosWired]

You say he believes he wasn’t able to consent to continue. But was he able to consent to begin? At any point did he say ‘no’ or ask them to stop? (I haven’t seen it, obviously.) I assume he signed a contract in order to perform; what sort of hold-harmless language is in the contract to protect the company from such claims? You can be sure the company’s covered its ass in this regard to head off any next-morning lawsuits that might get filed by men who fulfilled their porn-shoot fantasy and then regretted it. I’m certainly not an attorney, but I don’t think a production company like that could stay in business very long without ironclad defense against this sort of thing. I would be surprised if the contract does not include a clause in which the performer stipulates that he releases and holds harmless TIM from liability for any injury, suffering or distress resulting from performer’s participation in the shoot, that the performer enters into the agreement of his own free will and in full knowledge of the requirements for participation, accepts that there are risks, etc. etc. - in short, your friend may have already signed away most of his ability to mount an effective case. An attorney can review the contract and tell you how much room you have to maneuver.

 I also fear that your friend might find a judge or jury less sympathetic given the nature of his intent in signing the contract. Especially if your friend is correct in thinking that some people viewing the scene interpret it as acting, he might find it harder to convince them that he was not.

[Cumswap24]

Am i the only insensitive fucker who wants a link to whatever video this is

[verslut]

He needs to talk to an attorney about his options under civil law. An attorney focusing on occupational safety and labor laws would be best, and one with experience in the porn industry would be even better.

Criminal prosecution typically goes through local/county prosecutors. It may be hard to pursue after 10 years but it's worth discussing with law enforcement.

[Shotsfired]

Its going to be an uphill battle.  The video is edited and they can claim consent happened off camera,  and he was acting. 

I have seen the scene in question, and it is clearly non-consentual. He may be able to sue for the scenes removal.

[Shotsfired]

Also, I am sorry that happened. 

[phukhole]

While a contract does afford them some protection, the fact that the performer was intoxicated and clearly non-consenting DOES give some recourse.  The suggestion to contact Blue Bailey is sound, as is contacting the Free Speech Coalition ( [think before following links] [think before following links] https://www.freespeechcoalition.com/ ) for guidance. They work to protect the industry, which includes policing ourselves.  You'll probably end up in mediation, as TIM is not likely to want a lengthy drawn out court case. But he should definitely talk to someone and see what his options are.  Most studios won't shoot with performers in altered states because of the potential for legal issues. 

I'm sorry this happened to him.

 

Edited September 28, 2021 by phukhole

[gingerdaddyG]

I’m sure like many of us on BZ, TIM porn helped us along our bareback journey (Dawson was my hero), and I for one bought a number of their DVD’s in the past because of their edgy nature, but always on the assumption that everyone involved was happy ‘performing’ and that everything was consensual. The situation described above is appalling to say the least and I hope that the performer in question can get appropriate legal and any emotional/psychological help that he needs and deserves. Sorry I can’t be helpful. 

[BootmanLA]

Here's where I think he's going to have difficulty with a legal case.

1. Presumably, at the time he signed the contract, he was not intoxicated and able to consent to being filmed and specifically to be filmed having sex. 

2. Apparently - based on what I've read here, which I realize is not from the horse's mouth and thus involves some assumptions - he chose to go under the influence of something - alcohol or other drugs - that may have impaired his perceptions - such that he didn't feel he could withdraw consent.

It's the interaction of those two choices he made which will likely limit his options, particularly since it's been ten years since the incident. Most torts - a wrongful act that leads to civil liability - have a corresponding statute of limitations, limiting your ability to file suit based on that tort to a certain period of time after the tort occurs (or after you discover it). So the question would be, what type of tort was committed?

For instance, if he were to allege a personal injury tort (ie a physical injury), the statute of limitations lapsed two years after the filming date, because that's the date on which the injury occurred. At best, he could claim he was so intoxicated he didn't know the extent of the injury until he saw the video, but a judge might look askance at an "injury" so serious that it justifies suing over, but of which the victim was nonetheless unaware for ten years.

If he were to allege a violation of the contract, the problem there is that (written) contract violations have a 4-year statute of limitations, and I think he'd have even more trouble proving a violation of a contract from that far back, that he could claim to be unaware of until he'd seen the video. There would have to have been some clause in the contract, for instance, that forbids the studio from filming or continuing to film if your friend was under the influence, but it's highly unlikely the studio would put that in (studios draft the contracts to protect themselves, and that provision would do the opposite).

In other words, waiting this long is likely a huge problem for legal compensation. And even if he could allege some circumstances that called for tolling (that is, extending) the statute of limitations, he's still up against the problem that he signed the contract in good faith while sober, and then (again, apparently, I'm assuming) chose to be non-sober at the time he carried out his obligations under the contract. Unlike, say, a date-rape type case, where a victim can say his or her consent to sex was never legitimately given because he or she was drunk or drugged, there's a contract in black and white here that says otherwise. And unless he was forcibly intoxicated by the actions of others, I'm guessing he's out of luck here.

I'm not opining above on what SHOULD happen, by the way. But porn studios are not, in general, noted for beneficence. They are money-making enterprises in a highly competitive industry that faces formidable headwinds on the one side from regulators and moralists, and on the other from amateurs willing to give away for free what they're trying to sell. In an ideal world, approaching them about this video would be enough for them to restrict its distribution. But this is, clearly, not an ideal world.

[Kimberley]

I remember this girl, she wasn't like it at all and was really mad as you see in the end of the video. could laugh about it..

[think before following links] https://nl.xhamster.com/videos/extreme-gokkun-unknown-girl-1785419

[BBCStud]

12 hours ago, seaguy said:

Sounds like one of Fucktard aka Jay Elliott's scenes.

That was what I was thinking too.

[evilalex]

Your friend should get in touch with a lawyer. If he can't afford one, some law schools have legal aid clinics staffed by law students and supervised by attorneys.