Porn Valley- Tianna Lynn was on for a better part of an hour on Cytherea’s KSEX show, www.ksexradio.com Thursday night explaining her medical condition. And, after the explanation, you might still need an explanation because it basically comes down to this: Lynn said she had Hepatitis C but she doesn’t have Hepatitis C. If that sounds confusing, Lynn in an interview I had with her after the show said think of what she’s going through.
In making the introductions, Brian, Cytherea’s significant other, set the table: “Reports came out last week that Tianna Lynn was diagnosed with Hepatitis C. If anybody else out in the porn world or the general world is like me and Cytherea we don’t know much about Hepatitis C except it’s really fucking bad and you’re fucked and don’t talk to them any more.”
Brian thought it showed a lot of balls and courage on Lynn’s part to come on the show. “To not bury your head in the sand like most people would and to just address these issues head on. It’s admirable that you would do so.”Brian noted that after the reports came out, people began chiming in with their “five cent Cracker Jack diagnosis” and medical expertise on Hep-C.
“As a lot of people know I was a former addict,” said Lynn. “I did do stupid stuff. For some reason I had a feeling that there was something I needed to be tested for because I figured they did it when I was in rehab, but, they never told me. I used needles. I shared needles with all my meth buddies and actually checked myself in for it. While I was there they had tested, but something was telling me that there was something I need to know for myself.” Lynn said she then got tested and was told she had Hep-C. “This was two weeks ago.”
Lynn said November 1 will be two years since she last used a needle.
“I found out I did have Hepatitis C,” she continued, “and asked is this going to affect the industry because the last thing I want to do is harm the industry.” As Lynn said she learned in rehab, Hepatitis C is not a sexually transmitted disease. “Yes there is- I’m not going to lie- there is like one in a billion chance- that you can contract it through sex. Especially anal- which I don’t do- and a lot of rough scenes, you’re going to bleed. But that’s why me and the doctor checked my blood for my enzyme level and viral load.”
With Lynn’s comments about needle sharing and meth buddies, Brian wanted to know if those were people in the adult industry. “You don’t have to name names, but are they people we might come in contact with daily in our working in porn?” Lynn said it was people in Tucson.
Asked what her reaction was when learning she had Hep-C, Lynn said she broke down and cried. “Because everybody knows- a lot of people who work with me, I do get up and wash my hands like five times a day and I’m very mad at myself that someone who does that will be 18 years old and share someone’s needle. But I’m very thankful that I did not contract something like that.” Because some of her information sounded contradictory, Brian asked Lynn to fill in the blanks: Tianna Lynn does or does not have Hepatitis C. “Does not,” she answered.
Brian said the reports were that although she may have had it at one point, her body has fought it. “At one point- probably two years ago I did have Hepatitis C,” Lynn confirmed. “Yes I do still have an antibody that is probably got me where I am today with no problems and no Hep- C. I didn’t know my immune system was that strong. But I do not have the Hep-C virus and I will get a second test to prove that.” Cythrea asked a pretty good question in that how can Lynn know for sure she doesn’t have Hep-C if they only test for antibodies.
“If you have the antibody, they test your blood to see if you have the virus,” Lynn explained. “They check your viral load. After you find out you have an antibody that’s when they need to know do you have a virus, do you have a viral load.” Cytherea was also curious that if she had an open wound, could she get Hep-C. “There is a one in a million or billion chance,” Lynn said. “There is. Very rare but there has to be a lot of blood content. If I did a triple anal on you with my clitoris that was cut, then you might have a chance of getting it.”
Lynn went on to say that she’s had a performer who worked with her two years ago when she probably had the virus. “He tested, and till this day still does not have Hep-C.”
According to stats he got from the CDC, Brian said the virus is detectable almost immediately after exposure in 70% of cases. “In 95% of all people infected with Hepatitis C, it is detectable within 90 days.”
Brian asked Lynn if she exhibited any of the systems. “After two years all of a sudden you decide to get tested for Hep-C. It was brought on by what?” Lynn stated that it was a personal thing. “I am a Virgo. I analyze everything. I’ve got a million thoughts in my head. One day I was at AIM. You know what? I was in rehab and they tested for a lot of things. And usually no news is good news but that wasn’t good enough. And something in my body was saying I got to know once and for all. Did I or do I have the virus? And yes I did.”
Brian considered it the likely scenario that Lynn had it from using needles. “But do you think that your affinity for having every part of your body pierced multiple times…?” Lynn said she thought that too. “What are you doping getting pierced over there by that guy and I see him pierce three fucking people. Did you give any thought maybe that happened?” Lynn said she had given thought to it maybe five minutes ago. “When I said I got my nipples pierced three times.”
Brian pointed out that Lynn almost got hospitalized because of her last surgery. “Your boob went all purple and shit,” said Cytherea. “It was really gross.” Cytherea described an instance where Lynn’s boob was nearly purple and green. “We had to take her to the hospital.” Brian said Lynn might do well to consider all villains in the scenario. “Just because you quit slamming needles into your arm and doing drugs two years ago doesn’t mean you’re allowed to do stupid, dumb lapse-in-judgment-shit now.”
Cytherea then asked Lynn if she knew she had Hep-C at the time she was getting the piercings. Lynn said she didn’t. “That’s what I want to find out how long your body does take to fight off a virus like that. I didn’t know you could fight off a virus until I looked into it recently.”
Brian said he heard the message that AIM’s Sharon Mitchell left Lynn on her cell phone. “It was as glowing and wonderful a message and certainly as encouraging a message that anyone could receive from a doctor. That’s all good news for you.” By the same token, Brian was also quick to note that there hasn’t been a response from either AIM or Mitchell. Brian said there should be a response. “The entire industry is going nuts.” Brian then asked Lynn if she felt letdown because no one came to bat for her.
“Honestly I do,” said Lynn, feeling that maybe she had to make statement on her own behalf. “But I didn’t know enough about it to be, like, this is the facts.” Brian observed that Lynn’s been left to twist in the wind for seven days. “Wouldn’t you have liked to see the medical authority of the porn world step up and say…?” Lynn said, yes, and since the news broke, she’s had eight people tell her that they’ve had the same thing happen to them. “Where are you?”
Lynn wants to know why AIM hasn’t come forward in her defense. Lynn said she can’t understand the stall because she told AIM they could release the facts of her case. “The fact is it is confidential information. Yes it is personal.” Brian said he’s been there on all the occasions when Lynn asked AIM to please help her out. “With OSHA and all that’s fucking going on, come to bat for me and say that I’m not infecting the entire world- I’m okay. And you’ve gotten no response from any of them.”
Then ensued a mini debate as to what Mitchell could or couldn’t say. Brian’s opinion was that Mitchell didn’t have to say what Lynn’s viral load or condition was. “But she can come out and say Tianna Lynn does not have Hepatitis-C.”Lynn contradicted by saying Mitchell couldn’t say that. “Because if I did have it, she can’t say that I have it so therefore she can’t say that I don’t have it because it’s personal information. She can talk about my situation if people call on set. She can, yes, she’s okay to work. She can write a statement about Hepatitis -C and the situations and this and that.” Brian made it clear that while he loves AIM he feels bad that one of his friends was out there looking for anybody with a letter or two behind their name to back them up. But no one wants to talk to the sick kid.”
Noting that it was basically a liver disease, Cytherea wondered why everyone was making it sound like it was the most disgusting thing. “You ruin your liver while you’re drinking.” Lynn said she was told that from the looks of her blood test she’s healthy as can be. “I don’t feel it.” Brian asked Lynn where all this leaves her in terms of the industry.
“Since there’s be so much disinformation out there, how do you carry on with a career that you’ve worked your ass for up to this point and carry on with?” Lynn said she’s had people contact her who are comfortable working with her. “If someone is not comfortable working with me, I’m more than happy to leave it at that,” she added. “If it is a condom optional shoot, I’ll be the first one to say let’s use a condom because I love them. If I need a second test I will get another second PCR test. Once I have that I will bring those tests. If people really want to look into it I will show them that.” Brian threw out another statistic from CDC that said 80% of the people in the country that have Hep-C don’t know they have it. That’s scary in of itself.” By the same token, Lynn said she knows a lot of people in the industry who are working with herpes. “People have it and that’s the risk I took.”
Brian said he wanted Lynn on again in another couple of weeks. “The day you get your second PCR test call me immediately and I will make an announcement on the air conforming your status.” Brian also wants to touch on issues regarding some agents in Tucson that I think need to be talked about.” Brian also wanted to make it known that once the second test comes in, Cytherea Productions Inc will be the first to shoot her. “Cytherea and I are supporting you.”
After the show was over I spoke to Lynn telling her my head was spinning with the contradictory information that came out of her appearance. “You’re telling me,” she laughed. I told Lynn, even after the KSEX show people, will still be throwing this issue around. Lynn agreed, noting that she researched Hep-C when she was in rehab. “But when I got my results it was, like, how is that possible? All I know is that I have an antibody and I don’t have a virus. That’s all I can tell people.”
I question Lynn on her statement that two weeks ago she was told that she had Hep-C. “That was an antibody test,” says Lynn. “But I don’t have a Hep-C virus. I had it at one time.” Lynn said she’s been advised to get a second PCR test to check her blood. “If that shows up negative, too, then I don’t have a virus. I just have an antibody that fought it off probably years ago.” Lynn said she expects to get that test probably the last week of October. “I’m going to go to an actual practice and have them do another test. I will have two tests that show two negatives from two different places.”Again I wanted Lynn to be clear with this. “Two weeks ago you take a test…”
“And the results of that test showed I had a Hep-C antibody that showed positive,” stated Lynn. “The next step is let’s see if you have a virus and how far it’s gone. I don’t have the virus. I may have had it at one point in my life- when they studied my enzymes, and protein and all that stuff.”