April 29, 2010 | Arts / Entertainment

Porn star crucifixion

An Australian painter recruited well-known gay porn star Francois Sagat as his muse for his latest piece. The stunning oil painting, for which someone paid $42,000, is a statement about safer sex and the Roman Catholic Church. 

"I was motivated by the Vatican's position on homosexuality, and its ban on condom use, to create a painting which references Caravaggio's 'Crucifiction of St Peter,’" Ross Watson said of his work. "Francois Sagat continues to play a valuable role in the area of HIV/AIDS prevention and education. I wanted to acknowledge that in the painting, whilst tying it to the Vatican.

"Some will regard the painting as provocative, but I don't believe it is in contrast to the Vatican's position on these issues. The Pope's second-in-charge recently claimed homosexuality and pedophelia are linked. That enraged me. It seems just and deserving to depict Francois Sagat as a contemporary saint, given he is helping to save lives, rather than contributing to causing illness and deaths for millions."

Sainthood -- that's even better than a GayVN Award!