You’re suing him for what?

A bizarre scandal lights up the pages of The Star, as they report that former Toronto Bluejay and star of many erotic fantasies set in the early 90s Roberto Alomar’s ex-girlfriend is suing him for allegedly exposing her to HIV. Normally, we at Xtra don’t cotton to printing people’s sero-statuses, but this case is already very high profile, completely ridiculous, and still has offered no proof of either party’s sero-status. The girlfriend alleges Alomar forced her to have unprotected sex with him repeatedly despite both believing him to be HIV-positive, and even though she has not tested positive herself, she’s seeking compensation for the mental and emotional stress of the experience, to the tune of $15 million. I certainly hope she’s getting the mental treatment she clearly needs.

Perhaps this girlfriend could use exposure to one of the newest HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns being launched by Sero-Zero in Montreal in partnership with service organisations in cities across Canada.

Sad news from Buddies In Bad Times Theatre, which is apparently in such financial straits that it has had to cancel its upcoming show, Gay4Pay, which promised to be a look into the lives of a group of porn addicts and the model they love. Hopefully, the Ed Roy-penned piece will be back at some point. In its place, Buddies has scheduled fundraising events, including a remount of Daniel MacIvor’s Cul-de-Sac.

Buddies is currently in the second week of its Rhubarb Festival, and there are lots of great shows on schedule, including my own solo show, Fucking Stephen Harper: How I Sexually Assaulted the 22nd Prime Minister of Canada and Where It Got Me, a fictional piece inspired by my work at Xtra covering last year’s election. FSH is playing as part of the Young Creators Unit presentations, Saturday and Sunday evenings at 6:30pm, and makes a great beginning to a Valentine’s date. Tickets are free for those under 25.

Rob Salerno is a playwright and journalist whose writing has appeared in such publications as Vice, Advocate, NOW and OutTraveler.

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