VAN NUYS, Calif. – A year after Cal/OSHA cited Evil Angel for infractions of state health and safety codes, the agency on Wednesday dropped all charges related to the studio’s adult movie production.
The move came almost one and one-half years after the state workplace safety agency began investigating Evil Angel for alleged violations including health risks to performers having unprotected sex on the studio’s movie sets. Dropped charges included catchphrases like “bloodborne pathogens” and “other potentially infectious materials (OPIM),” as well as ample references to vaginal, anal and oral sex.
A studio spokesman said the administrative court judge in Covina, Calif., must rule on several minor violations before declaring the case closed.
“Yesterday OSHA made a motion to the judge to drop all of the production citations,” Evil Angel Chief Financial Officer Adam Grayson said. “All of what remains is ticky-tack warehouse stuff, the same you would find in any warehouse in California, big or small, adult or otherwise. An extension cord here, an unlabeled breaker switch there.”
Evil Angel founder and owner John Stagliano vigorously denied wrongdoing from the start, declaring Cal/OSHA’s action tantamount to a witch hunt.
“We are in a culture war,” Stagliano said. “Many people would love to have the power to control what we do with our bodies. The porn industry, by its very existence, fights for freedom — for the freedom to do what you want with your body and show that to the world.
“This is a small victory in the war on our freedom,” he added.
Attorney Karen Tynan, who has represented a number of other adult companies in Cal/OSHA cases, represented Evil Angel.
“We never considered settlement,” she said. “We always knew we were in the right, and John refused to be bullied by the State of California.
“I can’t praise John Stagliano enough for what he’s done for the adult industry,” Tynan continued. “I’m so proud to have worked with him and Adam [Grayson] to defend Evil Angel and the industry.”
