Charlie Sheen has confirmed he is HIV positive in a revealing new interview, calling it a “turning point” in his life.
The Two and a Half Men actor sat down with Today host Matt Lauer to talk through his condition, revealing that he was first diagnosed about four years ago.
“I’m here to admit that I am in fact HIV positive,” he revealed.
“It’s a hard three letters to absorb, you know? It’s a turning point in one’s life.”
Charlie talks to Matt Lauer on the Today show. Photo: Getty
Matt Lauer and Charlie Sheen embrace after the grueling interview.
He said he had finally come clean to put a stop to the whirlwind of rumours that had been gaining steam lately, including claims that implicated others in his HIV positive diagnosis.
Shockingly, Charlie also revealed that he had been blackmailed over the secret by people he had trusted completely. He wouldn’t confirm exactly how many people he had paid off to keep silent about the news, but he told Mr Lauer it was “enough to bring it into the millions”.
“For some reason I trusted them, they were deep in my inner circle,” Charlie said.
In appearing on the Today show, Charlie said he hoped to finally get ahead of the threats.
“I think I release myself from this prison today.”
When pressed about whether he had taken part in any unsafe sexual contact since learning of the diagnosis, Charlie insisted that he was not.
The 50-year-old actor said it was “impossible” that he had transmitted the virus to anyone else, and said he had used condoms and told every sexual partner of his condition beforehand. He did admit to having unprotected sex with two people, but said they were “completely warned” and were being taken care of by his own doctor at the time.
Charlie said he wasn’t sure how he contracted the virus in the first place, and his doctor confirmed that the actor did not have AIDS. After initially mistaking a series of “crushing headaches” as a brain tumour, the actor received his diagnosis and is now taking antiviral drugs to manage the condition.
Charlie, pictured with Brooke and his daughters, who has revealed that she and the kids are HIV-free.
HIV, which affects the immune system and can develop into AIDS if left untreated, is spread through the bodily fluid of infected people.
For more information on HIV in New Zealand, visit the New Zealand AIDS Foundation.
