September 22, 2007 | The Biz

Fighting words from former porn star

Tony Bishop isn't afraid to speak his mind! The former porn star is outraged at what he considers industry hypocrisy, highlighted in the aftermath of the death of actor Danny Roddick.

Colt Studios, where Roddick was an exclusive model, and AMG Brasil, where he worked on their most recent release, have offered to make donations in Roddick's name to both the World Wildlife Fund and the New Leaf Organization. Bishop says it's not nearly enough considering that all studios seem relatively unconcerned with their actors while they're alive.

Bishop recently shared his feelings in an open e-mail. Let's just say he doesn't sound very happy...

[Studios prey on] the unsuspecting, overly optimistic, insecure, emotionally distressed young men who get into the gay adult film industry–chattel, essentially subjugated to indentured servitude for the explicit gain of the studio.

How many more deaths is it going to take before the studios wake up and do something… And by do something, I mean do something constructive to help curb this awesome and grotesque trend. Not, in Danny’s case, a one-off contribution to a charitable organization… In an industry worth billions of dollars, why are the studios not doing more? …We put our flesh, blood, tears, physical and mental health, personal relationships, overall well being on the line for the studios because you can’t work if you won’t put it all on the line for them…

And at the end of the day we are a more fragile people. We too have hearts, minds and emotions. So give something back. Back [to] the public, back to our communities, be a corporate citizen for a change. Studios need to wake up and face the facts that with a few preemptive measures on their part, tragedies like Danny’s can be avoided. And should be avoided! There is no reason it can not be.

Bishop feels more can be done by the studios to address issues of substance abuse, mental and physical health, and to provide support for individuals working within the industry. His advice? "(S)top spending [money] on just sponsoring or throwing the next big circuit party–encouraging more abuse. Stop playing with people’s lives and do something that will actually help our community so tragedies like Danny’s may be avoided altogether."

Is Bishop right? Currently any details of Roddick's death amount to little more than rumor, so it is difficult to start placing the blame on a studio or the porn industry. Still, if something could have been done...

We do know one thing: that bitch slap is going to leave a mark!