Desi and Elli Foxx file a class action lawsuit against AIM.

UPDATE: Important new developments as to why Desi is suing. (click)

Opinion/Editorial

Former performers Desi and Elli Foxx filed a class action lawsuit against AIM yesterday over privacy breaches of their protected patient health data and deceptive business practices. Mother & daughter held a press conference yesterday morning at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) offices attended by AHF attorney Brian Chase and AHF President Michael Weinstein. Attorneys Brian Chase and Tom Myers are two AHF attorneys working pro bono representing both Desi and Elli:

“We are grateful for the support of AHF in our efforts and for the pro bono legal work being done on our behalf. We also ask the court to seriously consider certifying this case as a class action on behalf of all those people whose health and privacy rights may have been repeatedly violated by AIM’s deceptive and illegal practices.”

Desi claims AIM invaded their privacy by allowing producers access to their medical test results available online to producers and anyone else with a user name and password into AIM’s database:

“While working in California’s adult film industry, both Bess and I were repeatedly tested for sexually transmitted diseases at AIM’s clinic,’ said lead Plaintiff Diana Grandmason. “I was tested for HIV, chlamydia and gonorrhea at AIM on nine occasions in 2008 and 2009, while Bess was tested for the same diseases on ten occasions in 2008 and 2009. We each had to sign sweeping release-of-information forms and pay AIM for this testing. AIM then made our medical test results available online to adult film producers and anyone else with a user name and password for AIM’s database—something we understand is illegal under state and federal law. And despite the fact that we have each been out of the industry for more than a year, it is our understanding that our private health data still remains freely—and illegally—available online at AIM’s database. With this lawsuit, we hope to stop AIM from violating our and other patients’ legal rights.”

Producers need access to the medical records in order to make sure who they’re hiring doesn’t have STDs. How else will they know who has whatever STDs? They could all wait till the day of filming and waste everyone’s time. But performers have the right to go into that database and see if who they’re working with that day has STDs. I’m no fan of either AIM or Sharon Mitchell. But if I’m a performer, you better believe I’ll be finding out beforehand if my future co-stars have STDs. AIM only tests for three STDs: HIV, Chlamydia, and Gonorrhea. That’s it!

What harm was done to Desi by having producers know her medical results? Don’t play victim without looking at what AIM did to the performers infected with HIV back in 2004. AIM released the names of Darren James, Lara Roxx, Miss Arroyo, and Jessica Dee to the media and that’s how many found out for the first time that their son and daughters were porn stars. So their families found out at the same time that their children are porn stars now infected with HIV.

In 2005, Darren James sued AIM and several of their officials for medical negligence and invasion of privacy. He later settled out of court with them. He got the phone call that he has HIV and they are releasing his name to the public. He pleaded with them to not release his name because his parents didn’t know what he really did for a living. They didn’t care and released his name anyway.

He was so upset that he bought a bus ticket to Tijuana to get away. While in Mexico, he saw television coverage about the porn industry’s latest HIV outbreak. His name and picture was all over the news. That’s when he tried to kill himself. He woke up days later in a hospital near San Diego and it took him months to recover. He later found out that his mother learned of his HIV status and him being a porn star while watching television at her Church. How was Desi and Elli’s privacy invaded when you have the above examples?

I’m just trying to understand is there something that I’m missing here as to the harm caused to Desi and her daughter by having their medical results shown to producers. Or is this everyone involved just throwing whatever they can at the wall to see what sticks? Or did someone from the industry contact Desi and Elli in the outside world and make public to their family/friends/neighbors their past medical results?

Desi says her medical results are still available in AIM’s database. Well don’t they have to keep everything for legal reasons? They might also not delete anything because so many do come back into the industry. But I would think AIM can’t delete anything for legal reasons to not only protect themselves legally, but to also protect the performers from anything legal that might surface in the future.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation website doesn’t even mention that Desi and Elli are mother & daughter, doesn’t mention their porn names, performed in the same porn movies, and also worked together at the Bunny Ranch. Because would anyone take Desi Foxx serious in this lawsuit if they knew?

There are so many battles to be fought in this industry but I feel invasion of privacy over medical results isn’t one of them. Desi had once posted on her blog the home/work addresses of where porn is filmed in California. Isn’t that an invasion of privacy when not everyone in the area might know that porn is being filmed across the street? She was living out of state already away from the industry at the time. Instead of fighting porn where she was living at the time, she instead made public the addresses of these California studios where many people would never know porn was being filmed and where many of those places were private residences. They might have all the permits and paperwork in order but they don’t want their neighbors to know what’s being filmed behind closed doors.

A year ago Desi was writing on her blog how how “the evil men of porn” were after her and she had to go underground for her own safety. She wrote how she would have to stop the blog because she couldn’t use a computer or answer her emails because she had to go into hiding. Two weeks later she came back. She would go on and say how she was poor and had no money. Weeks after that she was writing how she was thinking of building a new patio to her home. How can she have a house when she was claiming to be poor? How can she have the money to start building a new patio??

My biggest complaint about all of this is how dare Desi drag her daughter into this. I’ve been told many things about Desi throughout the time she and Elli have been in porn. Someone who knew them had also previously written about how Desi easily manipulates Elli and had witnessed it. You never really heard anything from Elli when she was in the industry. Desi did most of the talking. Elli left porn and deleted her social networks. She was gone. Desi kept her blog and social networks and wrote controversial things on her blog. Elli was already out and why drag her back in this way? Now her real name is attached to her porn name. Why bring your daughter into this? Do this on your own if you want but don’t drag your daughter into it. Now you’re not only exposing your real identity but also daughter’s too.

I just see this as Desi’s way of getting the mainstream attention she wants. She was always talking about going mainstream and her whole shtick was the mother/daughter thing. I remember Desi saying how Elli got a job when they were finally back home and she was happy. Why drag her into this now exposing her and the rest of your entire family??

Posted in: Darren James, Desi Foxx, Elli Foxx, Jessica Dee, Lara Roxx, Miss Arroyo, Porn News, Porn Star, Sharon Mitchell, STDs