Pop Culture: Pedro

Pedro Reveals His HIV Status on The Real World
Before moving into MTV’s space on Lombard Street, The Real World: San Francisco cast was told they’d be living with someone HIV-positive. While filming the first episode of the reality series, Pedro Zamora revealed to a couple of his roommates that he had AIDS before showing the entire cast a scrapbook of his career as an AIDS educator. And, with that he became one of the first openly gay men with AIDS in popular media. Throughout the season, we witnessed Zamora’s day-to-day struggles with AIDS, as well as how educated his roommates on ways in which the virus could and could not be transmitted. Zamora would succumb to AIDS on November 11, 1994—the day after the final episode of The Real World: San Francisco aired—but not before bringing international attention to HIV/AIDS and LGBT issues and prejudices.

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