Charlie Sheen has revealed on the Today show that he is indeed HIV-positive.
“I’m here to admit I am in fact HIV-positive,” the former “Two and a Half Men” told Lauer. “I have to put a stop to this onslaught, this barrage, these attacks of sub-truths,” Sheen continued.
Sheen told Lauer that he was diagnosed about four years ago. “It’s a hard three letters to absorb,” Sheen said. “It’s a turning point in one’s life.”
Sheen also revealed that he has been blackmailed and extorted by people he trusted, which put him in the position of having to go public with a revealing interview, which he says will put a stop to the blackmail. He estimates he’s paid out “into the millions” and that those payments are “enough that it’s depleted the future,” citing sex workers who once they became aware of his diagnosis, “my truth became their treason.”
“I always led with condoms and honesty when it came to my condition,” Sheen said. “I trusted them. They were deep in my inner circle.”
“I release myself from this prison today,” Sheen said, referring to the cycle of blackmail.
Lauer then fired off a series of questions about transmission. Sheen said it was “impossible” that he had transmitted the virus to any partners, and that he always told his partners before sexual encounters. He also said he had had unprotected sex since his diagnosis. “But the two people I did that with were under the care of my doctor, and they were warned ahead of time.”
According to top Hollywood publicist and crisis manager Howard Bragman, he was approached by people close to Sheen six months ago to deal with the crisis, but never dealt with him directly.
Bragman says he was informed that Sheen “is getting treatment, and a lot of people in his life [knew] about it.”
“It’s been going on for quite awhile. He’s not necessarily comfortable talking about it. It was very hard to get up the courage for him to talk about it.”
“I’ve known about this a long time, it’s not a surprise to me,” says Bragman of the news (which was first reported by the National Enquirer). “I feel very sorry for his pain. And I hope it’s used as a teachable moment for the world. This is a disease that can affect anyone.”
Sheen, 50, – who has recently been laying low in the limelight – has had a long struggle with substance abuse and admitted to soliciting prostitutes in the past.
His volatile personal life was reportedly behind his public feud with Two and a Half Men creator Chuck Lorre and subsequent departure from the CBS sitcom, and his unpredictable behavior has frequently been a wedge in his contentious relationship with ex-wife Denise Richards, the mother of his two daughters (he has twin boys with his third ex, Brooke Mueller).
In recent months, Sheen has seen many ups and downs, including his 50th birthday, both blowouts and celebrations with Richards, drug dependency accusations from his former Two and a Half Men costar Jon Cryer, a brief hospitalization from food poisoning and even a flirtation with a run for public office.
Leave a Reply