CANOGA PARK, Calif. — Eric Paul Leue, executive director of the Free Speech Coalition, today slammed Michael Weinstein, the president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, claiming that he’s abusing the Cal/OSHA complaints system to harass adult entertainment performers.
The comments were similar in nature to ones made last week by Kink.com officials after the studio said it faced several new citations issued last week over its decision to give adult performers choice in using condoms.
Kink.com accused Cal/OSHA of issuing “politically motivated” citations at the behest of Weinstein. The complaints to Cal/OSHA were made by Weinstein, not anyone who had performed in the videos, and no injuries were alleged.
Leue today said: “Since 2009, Michael Weinstein has filed over 150 Cal/OSHA complaints against adult companies, corrupting a government authority in his personal vendetta against those who dare oppose his antiquated understanding of sexual health rights. The Cal/OSHA complaints system was designed to empower workers and their unions who need to alert the state about dangerous conditions in their work environment. Weinstein is abusing that very system to harass performers and producers who oppose mandates limiting their reproductive rights.”
Leue noted Weinstein has a long history of using the Cal/OSHA system for expressly political purposes, as evidenced by previous press releases issued by Weinstein targeting adult studios Kink, Vivid and Hustler.
“Cal/OSHA is there to protect workers, not to serve as a political weapon to intimidate the opponents of a ballot initiative,” Leue said. “There are tens of thousands of shoots each year, and Kink.com is correct — this is absolutely selective enforcement.”
