March 13, 2013 | Porn Stars

Gay porn star Wilfried Knight takes own life

Wilfried Knight, who had been a part of the gay adult community since 2004, committed suicide on Sunday, March 10; he was 35. He took his own life just two weeks after his partner of over eight years, Jerry Enriquez, hanged himself.

I don't think Knight's death had anything to do with gay porn; it had to do with the struggles he and Enriquez endured to make a life together.

Knight, who was French, and Enriquez, a US citizen, were two men of different nationalities who wanted to live and work in the same country.  But since neither France nor the US allow same-sex marriage there was no way for both of them to legally reside in the other's country, except temporarily. For six years Knight lived in Portland, OR with Enriquez while holding a student visa. But the visa expired and the couple decided to marry and live in Canada.

Enriquez was able to get a Canadian work visa after being offered a job in Vancouver with lululemon; Knight was allowed to accompany Enriquez as his spouse. But the lululemon job did not work out due to personality conflicts; Enriquez did not fit into the corporate culture, which Knight described as cult-like. Less than a year after being hired, Enriquez was dismissed. After five months of looking for another job without success, he killed himself.

Enriquez did not leave a will, and since their relationship was not recognized by the US, Knight faced fighting Enriquez's American family for the estate. In a blog post he tells the story of the past few years (naming names at lululemon) and also reveals that Enriquez had left sleeping pills and a bottle of wine, meant for his companion.   

Wilfried Knight was highly accomplished in gay porn.  He began his adult career in 2004 with Lucas Entertainment and appeared in twenty Lucas releases, including Assassins, Dangerous Liaisons, and Kings of New York. Knight became the first-ever joint Lucas/ Raging Stallion exclusive and made over ten videos for Raging Stallion including Cowboys, Giants, Tales of the Arabian Nights and Focus/Refocus. He won the 2010 GayVN Award for Performer of the Year, and he took home the 2011 Grabby for Best Versatile Performer. 

Knight joins a rash of recent gay porn model suicides, including Arpad Miklos, Erik Rhodes and Roman Ragazzi. He will be missed.