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HIV

Courtney Act Tells Us About Her Emotional Decision To Use PEP

Courtney Act Tells Pride About Her Emotional Decision To Use PEP

After having unprotected sex with an HIV positive man, Courtney Act shares her emotional decision to go on Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP).

Zachary Zane

Zachary Zane is a writer, YouTube influencer, and activist whose work focuses on (bi)sexuality, gender, dating, relationships, and identity politics. Check out his YouTube channel here.

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Zachary Zane

ZacharyZane_

December 01 2016 3:07 PM EST

December 09 2022 9:12 AM EST

Today, in honor of World AIDS Day, drag queen Courtney Act courageously revealed her last sexual encounter she had with a man, who turned out to be HIV positive. She did not use a condom, and as she says in her video, “…[It] wasn’t a smart decision, I should have taken more responsibility and used a condom or other precautions like PrEP, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, but I did not.”

However, Courtney did take her health into account before it was too late. She spoke to some friends and looked online and learned that anyone can get Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) from any ER room. If you start taking PEP within 72 hours of exposure, the risk of acquiring HIV drastically decreases.

When Pride asked Courtney to comment on the responses she’s received thus far from posting the video publically, Courtney told us,

“Lots of the comments have been that this is brave. It doesn’t feel brave. It just feels like…life happened. This is an opportunity to share a story and I hope it helps inform people of their options and #choices.”

World AIDS Day is not only about donating to HIV-related charitable causes, it’s also about destigmatizing those living with HIV, and informing the public of what options we have to keep ourselves and our partners safe from acquiring HIV.