SMH!!! Porn industry shut down because Mr. Marcus hid positive syphilis results.

Report  By Rheana Murray / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

An X-rated film star in Los Angeles admits he contracted syphilis and doctored his test results, just before an STD scare temporarily shut down the porn industry.

The porn actor, who uses the name Mr. Marcus, told trade journal Adult Video News (AVN) he went to his personal doctor when he felt sick on July 11. The doctor ran tests, and the next day learned Mr. Marcus tested positive for syphilis. The following day, he was given a penicillin shot and told to abstain from sex.

“My personal doctor doesn’t know what I do for a living,” Mr. Marcus told the website. “So his thing was just don’t have any sex for 7-10 days. Once I did that shot I felt pretty confident. Every doctor I talked to up to that point said, ‘You get the shot. That’s it.’”

Although subsequent testing showed syphilis was still in his system, 11 days after he received treatment, on July 24, Mr. Marcus shot a sex scene. He says the producer didn’t check his name in the Talent Testing Service (TTS) database, only asked to see a physical proof of his test results.

Mr. Marcus showed the producer a copy on his cell phone, but admits he hid the part that showed he had tested positive for syphilis. “I showed that my HIV was clear, my gonorrhea and chlamydia were fine,” he told AVN. “You didn’t see the syphilis part of the test because of the way I showed it.” Mr. Marcus says he doesn’t think he did anything wrong — even though he had a sexually transmitted disease when he had sex with other performers.

“I don’t feel that was a mistake,” he said. “I was treated. I allowed the medicine to take effect, and I wanted to proceed as normal. I wanted to go back to work as usual.” Mr. Marcus also admits he doctored test results he received from TTS to give to his “Blazing Bucks” director. The director thought the test looked suspicious, prompting an investigation into Mr. Marcus’ health. “I tried to cover it up,” he told AVN. “I didn’t want to have to share that part because it was like the Scarlet Letter. Because then it’s like Mr. Marcus, syphilis?” He says he came clean after reports surfaced this week of a syphilis outbreak among porn performers, prompting a 10-day halt in filming so more than 1,000 actors could get tested. All of Mr. Marcus partners have tested negative for syphilis, but the AP reports there are at least nine other cases of syphilis.