WaPo Unwittingly Calls HIV+ Bareback Actor 'The Modern Face Of HIV/AIDS'

Last week, The Washington Post unknowingly included bareback porn star D.J. Steedly in their article entitled, "In 2012, AIDS is a different beast for gay men in D.C."

The newspaper did a video interview with him (below) and also included him in the written article which said:

D.J. Steedley is the modern face of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. He is open about his HIV-positive status, physically fit, in some ways healthier than he was before he was diagnosed, and on a clinical trial through the National Institutes of Health that requires four pills a day, likely for the rest of his life.

However, gay porn blogger Zachary Sire at The Sword (NSFW) noticed and said: The National Institutes of Health (which is funded by U.S. tax dollars) must have been thrilled to learn that one of the patients in their clinical trial is practicing “discipline and caution” as a Treasure Island Media porn star. They do know, right?

Sire also noted that Steedly had recently signed an exclusive contract with Treasure Island Media (TIM), a bareback gay porn studio that proudly touts its "raw," condom-free porn with HIV-positive and negative actors friggin' one another.

TIM's blog post introducing their newest star (NSFW) said:

The 6’1, blond-haired, blue-eyed, All-American stud’s sexual talent “giving good, deep, hard, raw fuckings—I don’t stop until the bottom is limping on his way out.” But his deepest sexual fantasy, one he hopes TIM will help him make a reality, is “to be used in a raw, sling gang-fuck.”

In response to Sire's post, TIM posted a response (NSFW) which read:

While some narrow minded individuals, including Zach Sire and his group of followers at The Sword choose to bash those living with HIV, making comments such as “please only have sex with other contaminated people,” we celebrate D.J.’s willingness to be open and honest about his life.

But here's the thing, if Steedly had been a little more open and honest about his life with The Washington Post, they would not have needed to later include the following note at the bottom of their article:

Editor’s Note, July 25: This story includes interviews in text and video with D.J. Steedley, who was described in the story as “the modern face of the [AIDS] epidemic.” Following publication, The Post learned that Steedley signed a contract in June with a production company that specializes in filming and distributing videos that depict unprotected sex. This information was germane to the story and should have been included.

If The Washington Post had known about Steedly being a raw porn top, they probably wouldn't have interviewed him, which is kinda sad.

As an HIV+ porn star who has regular condomless sex and sells it on the web to other gay men, he represents a complex clash of contradictions that more accurately represents "the modern face of the HIV/AIDS epidemic" than The Washington Post had ever imagined.

Now that would have made their piece one hell of a read.