Beloved Gay Porn Star Erik Rhodes Found Dead

Born James Elliott Naughtin,30, the gay porn icon known as Erik Rhodes was found dead at 5:30 am last Thursday in New York CIty.

He had long suffered with drug addiction and depression, and the last post on his Tumblr, "A Romance with Misery," detailed the particulars of his steroid regiment. It His steroid and drug use was likely a factor in the heart attack that tragically ended his life.

Rhodes had been working in the porn industry since 2004, when the then 22-year-old signed as an Exclusive with Falcon. He'd only shot one scene before signing on and remained with the studio ever since. Rhodes eventually went on to direct eight features for Mustang Studios. Rhodes shot over 40 scenes during his eight year long career.

Rhodes was clearly a tortured soul, signing off his last Tumblr post with, "I'm waiting until I pop. Or my liver fails... Which [ever] comes first." His death has opened a dialogue about not only drugs in the gay pornography industry, but also about the role porn stars play in society. Over at the The Advocate, Brett Edward Stout considers the objectification of porn performers, and how our society shuns and idealize their lives -- and how this incident may open our eyes a bit to all of their humanity.