One of the saddest things about the coverage of male performer Billy Glide’s demise is the way clumsy efforts at “spin control” to protect his good name played into the hands of sensationalists.

Decades ago, it was common practice in the media to ascribe more palatable, ‘accidental’ causes of death to unpleasant realities. When a depressed, despairing family man shot himself in his den, the newspaper report would often read “killed while cleaning his gun” in order to protect his family from the shame and stigma of mental illness and suicide.

Because the impulse to protect the memory of friends and family is strong, when an implausible story is circulated about the circumstances of death, it cannot simply be taken at face value because the person telling it was close to the deceased.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

Male performer Brandon Irons has supplied this tribute to Billy Glide. We hope others will follow. R.I.P. Billy.

As many people who met Billy will say, he was a kind, fun-loving, non-competitive guy who put others at ease. I met him working in gangbangs for Al Borda around 1998 or 1999 and he got along well with everyone on set. He didn’t have a big ego and seemed to genuinely enjoy working. Girls liked his look and he was the epitome of a Southern California laid-back guy.

As rumours circulate concerning his drug use, I think back to the closing credits of one of Anabolic Video’s Gangbang Girl volumes. It was a behind the scenes shot of the gangbang in process as the camera panned away from the action to a passed-out Billy sitting 20 feet away. He would wake up wide-eyed for a few seconds, as if in a panic, and then just as quickly fall asleep. If this is what GHB does to you, it’s one scary drug.

Billy should be remembered as a friend to all who met him without a mean bone in his body. To lose him so soon after losing Jake Malone is a tragedy compounded.

Rest in Peace, brother Billy! You will be missed.