We just posted a comment from a reader who said "I hope all these people with porn pasts making their way to mainstream culture will help to normalize sex and nudity. More and more, people have naked pictures out there on hook up sites or for private use. I hope we'll all stop judging people who have been kind enough to show us their goods!"

 Of course we couldn't have agreed more. But then we read that the saga of Michael Verdugo ("Mikey V") the contestant on HGTV's Design Star has taken yet another turn. If you read our entry a few days ago (Roped Into Reality) you'll recall that there was a lot of internet chatter over Verdugo supposedly appearing in a gay bondage flick. Unfortunately the sexy guy was eliminated on the reality show soon after (we were rooting for him).
Also, there was one thing we reported incorrectly, he's an officer for the Hollywood, Florida police not the Hollywood in California. 

 The location here is key. It's been announced that the Hollywood, Florida Police Department of Internal Affairs has placed Verdugo on administrative leave pending an investigation into his alleged appearance in the gay bondage film Rope Rituals. It's also been reported that Design Star is also investigating. How pathetic. Honestly, what difference does it make if he did a gay bondage flick back in 1996? Is he is good officer today? And does his coming out in 2004 have anything to do with this? Think about it. If there was anti-gay sentiment at the police department and they couldn't do anything about it,  wouldn't this be a perfect way to get Verdugo off the force legally?

 Interestingly the producer of Rope Rituals has stated that he believes the actor Jeremy Wess in his film is NOT Verdugo. Now his reasons for this have something to do with the actor's ID not having Verdugo's name on it nor being issued from Florida. Naturally this presents a whole other set of legal problems should the investigating parties determine that Wess & Verdugo are one and the same. 

 As for Michael Verdugo he's hired an attorney Alberto Milian who apparently is a very colorful local character. He's been a prosecutor, journalist and radio personality. Here,  he's made some strong statements in the media that strike at the core of what we're saying about Verdugo's case. Here's the crux of his arguments:

 --Verdugo has been in law enforcement for 10 years and served his community. And he should be judged solely on that record.

 --He's done nothing wrong. He's been accused of no crime.

 --He's been unfairly "scrutinized" because of his being gay.

   And here's our favorite quote:

 ''We need to be more mature as a society,'' Milian said. ``I'm not the same person that I was at 17 as I am at 48.''

    We're not legal experts but it sounds like Milian is saying what we believe--if it turns out to be true that the 34 year old Verdugo was the 22 year old who did the film, what difference does it make?

   The ironically amusing aspect of all this is that the police and HGTV need to spend much time "investigating". It's not like cracking the Da Vinci Code! One look at his pics and the video and it seems obvious that Verdugo and Wess are the same person.  Either that or it's an extraordinary coincidence that he has a lookalike with the same tattoo. But it brings us back to the point we and many are making (including Milian). It shouldn't matter at all to any career Verdugo pursues if he did the film. What difference does it make?? Again, we hope "Mikey V" wins over the right-wing moralists who are anything but that. We'd love to see Verdugo become a cause celebre.