@atarax7:
the fact that he's a popular model now gives the scene the charm of a forbidden personality. Like spying a greek god, someone who "made it" and then denied it.
I'd like to hear what you think about it.
I think this is primary appeal of the scene–the fact that it was made, produced, and then vigourously suppressed. (From a sheer gay porn perspective, it's an average scene at best, probably filmed by an independent director and then sold to Clair Production.)
It is also worth noting that there appears to be a double standard here: Sylvester Stallone made straight porn films before his "legitimate" acting career, and that didn't prevent him from having a very successful mainline film career. Had those been gay films, I doubt that he would have been as successful--or had any future at all. I think this is an obvious manifestation of homophobia.
Pepin (or, most likely, his agent) made a business decision that it would be harmful to his career to have the porn material made public. While one avenue could have been to propose a cash settlement to Clair Production (i.e., pay them off to not distribute the scene), the underage argument is much more effective in suppressing any material that leaks out to third parties, such as websites or file-sharing networks.
The question then arises whether someone's appearance in an all-male porn implies anything about their sexuality. While it's true that there are many "gay for pay" actors, Pepin seemed to be taking definite pleasure in the male-male sex in that scene, and it also didn't seem like it was his first time, either. While many, if not most, male models in the print media (fashion, fragrance, etc.) are indeed gay, they don't want that known because it can be damaging to their career. This is partially homophobia, but also it can make the male model less appealing to a female audience.
One final comment about his age during the shoot (double entendre intended!): I have at times taught at the secondary school and university levels, with students aged 14 to 25+. I have learned that it's very difficult to determine someone's age by looking at them. While I would estimate Pepin's age in the scene at 20-ish, I also know that my estimations are potentially quite wrong. Having said that, though, I feel comfortable with the calculations proposed in my earlier post, and thus I'm comfortable keeping the downloaded scene on my computer. If I were presented with a strong case that he was in fact underage, I would delete the material immediately. (Given the age ambiguity, though, I will not redistribute the material, nor even show it to others.)
This has been in intriguing series of events.