34 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | Q&A
Qsaltlake.com |
Issue 333 |
MARCH, 2022
how it started. And within a week of that dinner, he sent me a text: “You should write a memoir.” That’s when I disclosed to him how much I hated writing, and he said, “It’s not that bad; you write a little bit at night before bed, and by the end of the year, you’ve got half a book written.” My response was: “I’m not going to end my day doing something I hate. You don’t realize how much I hate it!” And I didn’t start writing until 2017 or 2018.
AIDS activist Peter Staley on his memoir ‘Never Silent’ and friend Dr. Fauci BY LAWRENCE FERBER
A key member
of AIDS activist group ACT UP and a named plaintiff in the ongoing lawsuit against Gilead and other pharma companies for illegally extending the patent of PrEP and HIV medication tenofovir, Peter Staley will tell you that his life is an open book. Yet it took years of nudging from friends, including Anderson Cooper, to actually write that book himself. Released in October, Staley’s “Never Silent: ACT UP And My Life In Activism” (Chicago Review Press) is a jaw-droppingly frank 269-page read boasting a foreword by Anderson and back cover blurbs by Hillary Clinton and “Angels in America” playwright Tony Kushner. While Staley’s experiences with activism and HIV — he was diagnosed with what they called “AIDS-related complex” in 1985 — comprised part of David France’s acclaimed 2012 documentary and 2016 book “How To Survive A Plague,” “Never Silent” details firsthand his personal highs and lows, including
sexual and romantic, and his transformation from a closeted Wall Street bond trader to out-and-proud full-time activist. It includes some of ACT UP’s most outrageous, effective actions, like infiltrating big pharma and government offices and covering hateful GOP Senator Jesse Helms’ house in a giant condom. The book also delves into the infighting that led to ACT UP splintering, Staley’s later crystal meth addiction and his subsequent (and outrageous) street poster campaign to combat its use, how he stopped the Oscar-winning movie “Dallas Buyers Club” from being subverted by an AIDS denialist screenwriter (Vanity Fair recently published a gripping excerpt:), and exploits with policy power players like Dr. Anthony Fauci. Recently, Staley, who also co-founded and serves as secretary of PrEP4All, discussed the book’s numerous revelations, things he left out, Matthew McConaughey, and X-rated bucket list accomplishments. How did you become friends with Anderson Cooper, and how did he encourage you to write a memoir? Well, he was blown away by [the 2012 documentary] “How To Survive A Plague” and reached out by email and said, “If you ever want to get together, I’d really love that.” I jumped on that right away, of course, and we had dinner, and he gave me a tour of his house, I met the boyfriend, and that’s
PHOTOS COURTESY OF HUNTER HARDEN AND CORY CHITWOOD
What was one mistake you wanted to avoid while writing this? The biggest was being a blowhard, overstating my importance. I think I’ve been pretty good at self-reflection most of my life, and I’m proud of what I’ve done. Still, I’m incredibly conscious of the fact that none of my first five years as an activist would have been noticed by anybody or made any difference if it wasn’t for the fact [that] I was just one member of a huge movement. 99.9 percent of my power derived from the collective for a good five years. I was surprised by your level of frankness, especially regarding your sex life. The reveal that you contracted herpes even before your HIV diagnosis seems important, given how stigmatized that virus remains even today. Before AIDS, herpes was on the cover of Time magazine, and people would commit suicide when they got a herpes diagnosis. It was AIDS before AIDS. It was a really horrifying diagnosis, so, yeah, it was rough. But to be honest, I didn’t consciously think of that, to fight herpes stigma. You couldn’t tell my HIV seroconversion story without mentioning that’s how I found a doctor who helped save my life, [the late] Dr. Dan William. Is there any progress on a herpes vaccine? It feels like doctors and pharma have just thrown their hands up. It’s true. But if I [take acyclovir] every day, I never have an outbreak. Acyclovir came out after my HIV diagnosis, and I asked if I should stay on it every day, and my doctor said yes, so I’ve been on it every day since and have not had an outbreak. You discuss your relationship with the late journalist and filmmaker Robert Hilferty, whose movie “Stop The Church” famous-
