For weeks/months now, a “blind item” about an HIV-positive movie/TV star has been floating around. The speculation reached a fever pitch in the past week, and then on Monday, the confirmation came: Charlie Sheen is the one. Charlie Sheen is HIV positive and he will reveal his HIV status and more in an exclusive interview with the Today Show, airing this morning.
Charlie Sheen is going on the Today show to discuss being HIV-positive, sources tell PEOPLE. 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.
“The interview could open up a lot of sympathy for him, but he has to be concerned about a fear of litigation from former sexual partners. You don’t take that lightly.”
Bragman says he was informed that Sheen “is getting treatment, and a lot of people in his life know 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.”
When reached by PEOPLE, Sheen’s longtime publicist Jeff Ballard said they are no longer working together. “We had a disagreement how to handle a situation and we parted ways. We have had a 35-year friendship and I love him. I wish him nothing but the best.”
I was very, very young during the first and second waves of the HIV crisis in the ‘80s and early ‘90s. It’s difficult to discuss with the younger people, with the teens and 20-somethings who came of age sexually in an era when HIV/AIDS was not and is not a death sentence. But I remember when it was. I remember when it was a crisis, when being HIV positive meant you only had a matter of months to live. My point? I don’t know. This just made me sad. Charlie Sheen is far from my favorite person and I seriously doubt the Today Show interview will be some teachable moment for anyone, young or old. But it still makes me sad. I hope he’s got great medical care.
PS… There are like 20 million stories adjacent to this, so just know that I’ll do another post when Today releases the video of the interview. Right now, I want to hear what Sheen has to say to Matt Lauer.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Yeah saw this as an item last monday and thought CB would cover it then.
The issue with Sheen is that he has been having unprotected sex with drug use since his diagnosis.
The date of his status keeps changing but I guess that is to protect his last wife and twins.
Someone’s health status should not be made public but in his case it may have been a health alert. This makes me sad because he seems to have willfully tried to infect other people.
I’m not going to say he purposely knew and tried to infect others, perhaps he didn’t know . People like Sheen tend to think it won’t happen to them or be in denial.
I just hope his ex’s are ok.
Well CDAN got this one right .
Good luck to you Sheen, I wish no one ill health. Magic Johnson is living with it perhaps you can too .
They didn’t, it was in the Sony emails.
CDAN didn’tget .It was in Sony wiki leaks
Oops he just admitted that he has known for 4 years.
I get that it was in the Sony Hack but CDAN had a blind a long time ago about a celeb and a disease. People guessed it was Sheen
Actually, it was radar that broke the story. The Sony leaks only mentions an actor ehi is a drug addict and is HIV +. They didn’t mrntion names over email. But the industry knew , at least, 2 years ago. He knows longer. The timing of his einning and tiger blood meltdown is telling…
@V4Real,
He has had unprotected sex with people since getting the diagnosis . He also still does crack which promotes the progression of HIV to AIDs. I am sure he has been told this by his doctors. I mean all I did was google it.
He has paid people millions in damages and continues to pay people to have sex with him.
If that is not the definition of willful, I don’t know what is.
I HATE that I’m defending this guy (I cannot emphasize enough how much I can’t stand him) but we don’t know what he was telling prostitutes before he had sex with them. Maybe he disclosed his HIV status, maybe he didn’t, maybe he told them and used protection, maybe he did not, maybe he just paid for them for their companionship–we just don’t know. As much as I despise him, I’m simply not comfortable insinuating that he willfully infected women at this point. I mean, that’s a very serious accusation…
And I don’t mean to sound naïve because I know how f*cked up this guy is. I just think speculation is fine, but talking in absolutes is not.
I hear you, Kit. What I have an issue with is “this is a teachable moment for the world, this disease can affect anyone…” As if the man is some kind of martyr for the cause. Obviously the disease CAN affect anyone, but Charlie Sheen has gleefully had unprotected sex with multiple partners and openly used drugs for years. It’s called living a high-risk lifestyle. Of course, I wouldn’t wish this on anyone, but he’s no martyr. He had to have known that the foolish choices he was constantly making carried potential consequences.
@Kitten Scottine Ross Sheen’s ex fiancee said he didn’t tell her he had HIV for 4 months. I’m going to take a leap and guess he didn’t disclose his status to prostitutes.
We do not know he willfully had unprotected sex, until one of these women comes out and publicly states he did this. I am sure if it happened and they haven’t been paid off yet, it will come out. For all we know he could have had protected informed sex or maybe he is all talk no action, okay I doubt that but we really don’t know. Not for Charlie, but for the sake of the women he has been with and his children, I think it is probably better not to assume any of that.
I said specifically that speculation is fine–it’s gossip and all. But speaking in absolutes as if you know for certain is f*cked up. Then again, that’s kind of what people do around here.
But whatever… carry on I guess.
Kitten I’m assuming you were directing that comment at me. All you have to do is google Scottine Ross. That’s not speculation. Assuming a drug addict is not disclosing his or her HIV status to others isn’t a stretch. It is naive to believe Sheen told his HIV status to prostitutes.
@FingerBinger-It was a general statement. I personally think it’s naïve to assume that prostitutes haven’t had unprotected sex before for FAR less than what Sheen could have offered them, but that’s just me….Additionally, I made it VERY clear in my comments that I’m not saying that he either did/did not disclose his HIV positive status–just that none of us know for sure, unless you’re personal pals with Charlie?
And I never mentioned Scottine specifically– I was speaking in general terms about the various women that Sheen could have solicited for sex.
He probably just doesn’t care. He’s got enough money to deal with lawsuits and pay people off. Probably one of the reasons he favors sex workers as partners. Maybe he’ll put a contrite face on it for the interview but just look at how he lives his life. He really doesn’t give a crap about anyone or anything.
He knew for a long time.
Long enough for there to have been a mention of him and his situation in the Sony hack.
My heart goes out to those he potentially infected- I could care less about him.
https://wikileaks.org/sony/emails/emailid/12051
This guy pisses me off. I did come of age in the time when HIV was a death sentence. You forget a condom, you put your life at risk. You become an intravenous drug user, you put your life at risk. You hold onto the knowledge of having HIV and continue to sleep around and share needles, you put everyone else’s life at risk.
I have compassion for most people who become HIV positive. We all make mistakes, and it’s a cruel price to pay. My response to this guy is that he made mistakes and let other people pay the price. Based on years and years of evidence of his selfish behavior, I don’t believe that he changed his behaviors the second he learned he was HIV positive, never once having unprotected sex or sharing a needle. In fact, I’m sure he did it repeatedly.
totally agree bettyrose. well put!
I’m also in the generation when HIV/AIDS first came into the scene. I also remember that people lost their minds with fear because they didn’t understand the illness. I also remember that there was a lot of cruelty and judgement towards those who had the virus. I’m grateful that there’s treatment for the illness, but there is no cure.
Charlie lead a reckless life that unfortunately put him in the high risk category. I do feel sad for him, because nobody should have to live with this illness. He’s wealthy,and the wealthy can get the best. Allegedly he’s known for years now so I do think he’s on a very good plan of treatment. What bothers me is that if he knew ( and rumor is he did) and still engaged is behavior that put others at risk without letting them know, then that too me is criminal. People have gone to jail for that. It’s sad news however you look at it. Nobody is bulletproof.
Some of you are missing an important point and probably unknowingly promoting stigma against those with HIV/AIDS. The disease cannot be transmitted when someone is on treatment and their viral loads become undetectable. Treatment, in other words, is prevention.
Charlie Sheen has been on treatment since he found out he was sick 4 years ago, as confirmed by his doctor, and his viral load is undetectable. That means having unprotected sex would not spread the disease, though it is still recommended to use a condom. Of course, he could have passed it along by having unprotected sex before he knew – so knowing your status and getting treatment are key. Luckily though, with treatment, HIV is not a death sentence and will not progress to become AIDS.
By doing crack cocaine he severely lessens the effect of his antivirals.
Just because you can now live with it doesn’t mean it scares me any less
I just watched his interview and I feel that he was honest. Charlie has for better or worse, is honest. Now does that mean his behavior is good? No way. I believe him when he talked about his realizing that he was infected and that he’s been sticking to his treatment. His doctor backed that up. What I noticed is that he still seems manic. The way he talked, body language, it seemed scattered.
Thankfully, treatment is available. Again I’m a child of the 80’s. So when HIV/AIDS started becoming known, it was terrifying. People were dying at an alarming rate. There was a hysteria happening. So fast forward 20 years, things are a lot better, but it’s not perfect.
I can’t help but think about the people we’ve lost due to this disease. Both personally and celebrity wise. It hurts my heart.
Denisemich Sheen’s doctor, who is monitoring his health which includes blood tests confirming his viral load, indicated he has not had a detectible level of virus in his blood since his diagnosis because he is adhering to treatment.
Not disputing that treatment will not always be effective, but so far in Sheen’s case, it has been.
A doctor would not go on national tv and indicate Sheen cannot transmit the virus if he did not have evidence that was the case.
On one hand – hats off to him for going public with it, that takes guts. On the other – he willingly puts other lives at risk, he needs an intervention to stop this behaviour and get him back on his feet medically.
I hope he get the help he needs, gets clean and can live a bit longer.
Do you think he chose to open up about it? It seems to me he was somehow forced.
Yep he was forced but it still takes guts to go on national television and admit it – regardless of him as a person and how he is/has behaved this news can only serve to further the education of the disease and as a warning to those who live a similar lifestyle.
He was forced to because of all the extortion threats and pay-outs he’s been giving for years since he’s known.
Yeaaaah I don’t think this was his idea or something he volunteered for out of the goodness of his heart. C’mon, we’ve all watched his behavior over the last several years and heard many, many stories (some alleged, some not so much) of how he’s lived his life. This is NOT a man who does things for the “greater good” or any kind of “teachable moment”. He’s reached the end of his rope and it’s hanging him. That’s the only reason this interview is happening. It was either this or it will come out in court. He’s just trying to save face and be able to put his own words out there before it’s done for him.
Also he FOUND out ‘roughly 4 years’ ago so he could have had it for way longer, and I did not know you can get undetectable from using drugs.
He probably has had it for longer and it can take a while to show up in your blood – years ago i was in a relationship with a drug user who shared needles, i got tested twice. Once within 6 months of last being intimate and the 2nd time after 6 months, as i was told it can take upto a year to show up in the blood. But then again this was almost 20 yrs ago so I assume the testing procedures are more sophisticated now.
.
Many of you are missing an important point and probably unknowingly an unintentionally promoting stigma against those with HIV/AIDS. The disease cannot be transmitted when someone is on treatment and their viral loads become undetectable. Treatment, in other words, is prevention. Google it. It’s basic info about the disease.
Charlie Sheen has been on treatment since he found out he was sick 4 years ago, as confirmed by his doctor, and his viral load is undetectable. That means having unprotected sex would not spread the disease, though it is still recommended to use a condom. Of course, he could have passed it along by having unprotected sex before he was diagnosed – so knowing your status and getting treatment are key. Luckily though, with treatment, HIV is not a death sentence and will not progress to become AIDS.
No undetectable does NOT you can can’t transmit the disease it just means the risk is DRAMATICALLY LOWER. It does not however mean “HIV negative£
http://betablog.org/undetectable-burning-questions-answered/
Sad news but if he’s known about the diagnosis for awhile and still continued having sex and using drugs with other people, then i have no sympathy for him. Does that make me heartless?
If it does then I’m heartless, too.
NO, you are not heartless…people have gone to jail for having unprotected sex, while knowing they are HIV positive or have the aids virus, and infecting innocent partners. The only thing I can say is, because of Charlie’s reputation, any partner, would have to be a fool to have unprotected sex with him….
MrsBPitt you are incorrect. Since Sheen has been on treatment 4 years ago, confirmed by his doctor, he cannot pass the virus onto people he has sex with. AIDS treatment is a preventative measure.
Please don’t perpetuate myths about HIV/AIDS that contribute to the stigma that stops people from getting tested and treated. Because testing and treatment is what can put an end to this disease in our lifetimes.
I agree. He is an absolutely horrible person.
Not heartless at all. It’s heartless of HIM if he did that.
No it means you have sense and you don’t excuse his behavior
No, I don’t think you are heartless. I am not feeling any sympathy for Sheen at all….he is so destructive to himself and those around him. This guy’s life has brought so much pain to so many people, including his children. I doubt he revealed his status to any of his partners and I don’t think for a second he is revealing his hiv status for any “greater good”. He’s in corner and has no choice.
Anybody can have undiagnosed HIV. At least Charlie knows his numbers or more precisely, lack of numbers. That actually makes him safer than the random partner, who may have a higher viral load but not realize it.
I suppose I should live the rest of my life in quarantine because I’ve had chicken pox once and shingles twice and the virus lurks forever. Shingles is often extremely painful (my last bout lasted three horrible weeks and set me up for my $15,000 UTI) and can become chronic. But realistically, I’m no longer considered contagious.
At some point, people need to realize that every contact with another human (sexual or non-sexual) puts them at risk of acquiring whatever microbeasties lurk within that person. Just talking spits out millions or billions of them. Sexual contact puts you at risk for more than a hundred known STDs, some of which are quite incurable even by the standard of no detectable infection and some will cause you considerable pain and/or shorten your life. Unless we intend to live in a plastic bubble, we need to just take reasonable precautions and get on with life. Keep your immune defenses up as best you can, and remember that the body deals with pathogens 24/7 and mostly successfully.
May God provide abundant support to you at this hour of crisis. Nobody deserves their health to become fodder for gossip. I pray that you have long happy life.
Charlie used to be such a handsome man before he became washed up.
#Winning
The DM are absolutely going over board , they have a dozen sub stories on this smh
So does ROL.
What is ROL?
@Loopy – Radar Online
They broke the story with the blind item. I expect it from ROL.
Yeah, ROL goes overboard with every story. If they can get 10 stories out of one, they do. But I also take everything ROL reports with a grain of salt because it’s not all believable.
I’m going to keep my sympathy to myself since it’s going to be wasted on him based on what I’ve read of the stand he means to take.
Charlie Sheen is a disgusting human being and that has nothing to do with his disease.
To be honest, I thought about the blind item and who it could be and I didn’t come up with Charlie. It seems so obvious now that we know it’s him. The drugs, the hookers and pr0n star girlfriends and all that ‘winning’ and ‘tiger blood’ talk. Of course that doesn’t leave much space for responsible decisions concerning his and his partners sexual health.
All the best to him and the other people affected by this.
The names that were coming to me were like Leo Dicap, Clooney, Simon Cowell, Jack Nicholson but you are right, I mean this guy was screaming at the face of it.
To be fair, the blinds said “A list.” I don’t consider Charlie A-list, so DiCaprio was my first thought, too.
The public’s opinion who is A-list seems a lot narrower than the industy’s and the papers. I think in Hollywood if you have started in big pictures, have name recognition and are invited to events and considered to star in for some films you are A-list. To public is more like 25 people at most in a ever changing list of who has it all regarding box office, critics ratings, awards, looks, popularity, relevancy etc.
I feel the “Tiger Blood” talk and downward spiral must have been related to his diagnosis. As though mentally he was coming to grips with being positive and he needed to reclaim a feeling of being invincible–sort of like his way of dealing with the fact that something in his blood was turning against him.
I am not shocked at all—drugs, prostitutes,, pr0n stars, etc. In my mind a bunch of people in the entertainment industry may have something or another… Hollywood is a small place and things/people get around, inter-date, etc.
What is shocking is that it made it to the media pages. I think the studio execs and some Hollywood majors knew this for a long time now. A Sony hack email shows as much. I expected though, that they would manage to keep something so intensely private off of the media pages.
The fact that we are reading about it and he is coming forward suggests to me that he did something so major, so repugnant, that even the studio execs. had to back away from protecting him. So the stories circulating that he allegedly , knowingly, infected women/trans. etc. is sounding more and more likely.
I am sad for his children, ex-wives, his dad and brother. For Charlie I feel pity and derision. He is 50 and sounds like he hasn’t caught a clue as yet.
What is this tiger blood people keep mentioning?
@Loopy: the tiger blood comment was something that Sheen said about himself when he was doing a bunch of bizarre interviews during his time getting fired from Two and a half Men. He said some cryptic statement that he was “winning” and drank “tiger blood” essentially meaning he was so superior to all other people and we could not possibly understand him b/c he was so amazing. This was around the time he was living with two porn actresses and calling them his “goddesses”….all kinds of really bizarre stuff. There was an ABC 20/20 interview with him where he said most of these things. He seemed really manic (my guess is that he suffers from some sort of bi-polar disorder among his many addictions) and crazy in the interview. So that is what people are referring to. It’s really sad/scary to watch but it’s very hard to feel sorry for Charlie Sheen, IMO. He never seemed to really try to get help for his many deep seated problems. And I have to agree with what some other people have speculated, that he must have done something horrible/or is facing serious legal ramification for him to come forward with this now.
+1
Honestly, I doubt he would be going public with this if not for the possibility of lawsuits from people he willingly/knowingly/carelessly infected. I’m sure he has access to much better healthcare than the vast majority of his victims.
right, it is damage control.
Yes. I bet he will use the interview to claim that the virus has been undetectable and therefore he wasnt really a risk to his unprotected uninformed partners.
Yes, even the wording of the statement, including “this is a disease that can affect anyone,” is spun for sympathy.
This didn’t even work as a blind. Everyone guessed him. I hope he makes amends to all the people he hurt. (Trying hard to show compassion here)
Im not sad, im mad. The lifestyle Charlie led while being infected endangered a lot of people.
What a disgusting motherf#$%er. I can’t believe that some people are still defending him, looking for excuses and making fun of potential victims. He is just evil.
My thought went to his children. I could care less about him. I remember the stunt he pulled getting Denise thrown out the house not to long ago.
And the fact he was to busy with his godess circle to look after the twins while their mom was in rehab. So Denise watched them.
He’s just scum. His only thought is of himself and himself only.
Right? I don’t usually take such a hard line stance but I have zero sympathy for Charlie. He’s been self-destructive, irresponsible and selfish for YEARS. So I seriously doubt he acted responsibly once he was diagnosed with HIV.
Good morning CB girlfriends. I don’t think he would have put anyone at risk if he knew. Perhaps there was a time he wasn’t aware of the HIV and had sex. It’s all sad and messy. Should put on Today Show but haven’t got that far yet.
We are talking about a man who beat up his pregnant wife, and his other wife, and “accidentally” shot his gf and beat up a sex worker he had just slept with. Stab in the dark here but knowingly putting a woman at risk is EXACTLY the type of thing he is capable of. Good morning to you too.
Yeah, his record shows he doesn’t care about anyone but himself, and even that is questionable.
I don’t think a person’s heath should be headlines without their permission, but beyond that I can’t feel any sympathy for him. For those who have had to suffer by having him in their lives, and those he may have infected? Sure. But him, no.
You’re right. I don’t follow this man or watch his programs. I knew he was an asshole but didn’t realize how violent he was. My bad. Thanks for shaking me awake Naya.
I like my gossip stories and blind items can be fun at times. But the blind items about a person’s health status make me very uneasy. Many people had guessed it was Charlie but how did this get out in the first place?
Yes the people who had sex with Charlie had a right to know and be tested. But beyond that I have to wonder why he was basically forced to come forward.
Yes he is a celebrity and some may argue that they lose some privacy once they become famous ,but it think there should be limits when it comes to health issues and children. Unless the celebrity agrees to an interview.
Charlie has done some terrible things in the past and is not exactly my favourite actor. But he is a father and I can not imagine how his children may be reacting to this news.
A lot has changed over the years when it comes to telling the world that a person is HIV positive, but children can be cruel. Let’s hope Denise Richards is helping her daughters deal with any backlash that could come from their classmates
To answer your question on how this got out, it was leaked as part of the Sony hack, people were emailing each other about this.
As a person I think he is awful but then there is a small part of me that is sad that he is being forced to go public when he may not be ready to. My thoughts are with his family and kids more so than him.
@Zapp & @Roses – Any idea how Sony got that particular bit of info about his health?
Could be because of Insurance? Actors have to sometimes take physicals for Insurance reasons or also maybe drug tests?
Sony was a part of the Anger Management team, Charlie’s TV show. In the leaks, Sony wondered if he could complete filming of that with his illness.
I think the Sony people should be sued. Revealing personal health information of anyone is disturbing.
@H
I was thinking the same thing. And I love all they could think about is if the show would finish shooting.
Maybe in his drug daze he had no idea who he had or had not had sex with or shared needles with and this is a way to find all those people. Just a thought. From all reports, and they could be wrong, he’s had it for four years.
They found out because his HIV status was discussed in the Sony Leak emails. Figured it would come to light sooner or later with tabs and blogs posting it as blinds or just pure gossip. Makes me wonder if will he try to quietly go after Sony with a lawsuit since that is where it was revealed by them discussing his health in those emails.
He just said he was tired of being extorted and paying people to keep quiet. He’s known for 4 years. He’s absolutely vile.
@Karen his behavior is disgusting and I think a lot of people agree with that statement
However, that does not give anyone the right to extortion no matter what. I wouldn’t want the company I work for discussing my health via email or any other way and then having people finding out and worry about something so personal being leaked
When I first saw the “blinds” on this, my first guess – as was so many other people’s – was Charlie. His personal life has been the butt of many jokes throughout the years and he’s even used this persona in his movies/TV shows as a sort of spoof of himself. I can’t say that something like this was expected to happen but certainly the lifestyle would some day catch up with him. Charlie didn’t candidly deserve this kind of illness but, at that same time, his decision not to disclose the illness to those with whom he was being intimate is both outrageous and criminal.
@NewWester – You bring up a good point about how the story leaked. It was really distastefully splashed over the headlines and I commend CB for not commenting on this headline earlier. I remember how some celebrities with AIDS were treated back in the day, particularly Rock Hudson and Freddie Mercury. Rock had to check-in to hospitals overseas with a false name and still, reporters tried to access his room for the scoop. Freddie only announced his diagnosis 1 day before he died although his condition had been highly speculated upon.
I watched a clip of Doris’ 1980s show recently (the episode when Rock visited her, which was when the world realized something was terribly wrong with him). It was both sweet and heartbreaking to see two longtime friends meet up and chat one final time. They clearly adored and respected each other.
The Sony leak mentioned it which I think is how it got out into such a big way. Apparently it hasn’t been a secret in Hollywood. At least that is what I read yesterday.
Also, lets keep his two young sons in our thoughts. Those poor guys have a father and a mother who are both addicts. I seriously hope that Brook Mueller is safe from this diagnosis as well.
Yeah, I wonder about Brooke. He said he’s known for 4 years, which dates back to 2011, which was right on the tail end of their marriage. Most people with HIV live with it for at least a little while before diagnosis, so yeah, if I were her, I’d certainly be concerned. Brooke doesn’t seem to be a stable mother, but for her kids’ sake, I genuinely hope she’s alright.
Your concerns are my concerns as well. Charlie is a major a-hole, and I understand that this getting out might inform others that they need to get tested, etc. But at the same time, I hate something this serious becoming fodder for people to guess and speculate. Like you said, he is a father and those children will be affected by this… guaranteed. He’s also been with women over the years whose health will be speculated about. It’s just sad all around. SMH
It’s not only the fear of litigation, it’s also the fear of criminal charges. Depending on the number of partners who had unknowingly had unprotected sex with him and how many have been diagnosed positive with HIV. Charlie could be facing a long prison sentence.
He was my first guess when the rumours started.
While I have a certain amount of sympathy for anyone with a diagnosis such as this, like anyone who is a product of their own destruction it’s hard to go all in, especially given how he behaved towards Denise Richards when she was looking after his children both by her and another woman.
If you look at interviews his father Martin Sheen has given over the years, it is obvious Charlie has mental health and substance abuse issues too. I agree he treated Denise horribly, and that diagnosis doesn’t mean you are allowed to be a jerk, but it does explain his hypersexuality and poor impulse decision making process. Personally, I’m sad for everyone involved in this, his kids, his ex-wives, his siblings and parents.
The thing that always comes to mind is years ago when Martin Sheen was tearfully begging a judge to put Charlie in jail to save his life. It was heartbreaking to see on the news at the time. I cannot imagine how the people (parents, siblings, ex-wives, children, etc) who love Charlie have been feeling these past several years.
promiscuity is associated with high rates of stds
Charlie Sheen has made a lot of bad choices but regardless, it is always sad when someone gets sick. So my heart goes out to him and his kids.
Now if he knew about this for a long time, and still actively engaged in high risk behavior without telling the people he was with then frankly that is criminal.
I’m watching it now and it’s just sad. I also grew up during the 80s when HIV/AIDS was a death sentence. I knew people who died, my favorite high school English teacher for example, and the stigma and prejudice even today…that’s why Charlie wanted it kept a secret. I’ve seen people say he deserved it. WTF?
I hope he can make this a teachable moment, but he also has other issues like substance abuse, so not sure he’ll be able to.
A teacher I worked with died of AIDS. Luckily no one put him down for it. Or at least I didn’t hear anyone put him down for it.
@swack You are very lucky then.
In my case, it was unbearably sad. He was my Honors English and German teacher. A decorated Vietnam vet and just a wonderful person, who after I graduated was an inspiring mentor. He’s the reason I became a teacher myself. Once people in the community found out he was positive (and gay), they ostracized him like he was a leper. He wound up going back to Indiana to live with his parents, where he died. Hearing Charlie talk today brought back all that anger I felt when people treated my teacher as less than human.
@H – what a wonderful man that teacher was. I’m sorry you had to deal with that. But, I thank you for becoming a teacher.
From stories I’ve read, it seems like he is trying to say that he is “cured”, which is deeply dangerous, but this is a man who thought 9/11 was a planned by the US gov, so…
I’m watching the Today show interview and I haven’t heard him say he’s “cured,” nor did his doctor. The DM made that up it looks like.
Charlie is now saying he devulged his status to every person he had sex with including two girlfriends who he did have unprotected sex with and were under his doctor’s care.
Having unprotected sex in his condition is very troubling.
That is troubling to me. I have a dear friend who has HIV via injecting drugs years ago, and was discussing this with him. He said the only time he and his wife had unprotected sex was to make their son. That’s it. And it was a bizarre dance of timing – he had to ensure his viral load was super-low to minimize her risk, they timed it right for ovulation to maximize their chances – it was very clinical, according to him. That’s how most people with HIV live. He said that even if his wife wanted to skip the protection, he’d refuse, because the idea of even POSSIBLY infecting her with something that could end her life prematurely horrifies him. Most people with HIV would never even risk infecting a partner in such a manner. I hope that Sheen’s words and actions don’t cause people to think of HIV+ people in general this way.
It is very troubling and if I had been his gf, I would have said, “no way,” even with a doctor being on call. But if they decided to have sex with him and he did disclose his status beforehand…that’s a decision they made with full knowledge of the situation.
I’m sorry but I remember the 80s when people tortured a CHILD (Ryan White) for his HIV status forcing him to leave school and threatening to burn his house down. My English teacher who was decorated Vietnam vet was forced to leave his job because people were such idiots. So while I am not Charlie’s biggest fan because of his past behaviours, I don’t wish him unwell either.
Perhaps his PR team is spinning this, maybe he is lying and didn’t disclose his status, and if that’s the case he deserves being sued and prosecuted. But if he did disclose his status to sexual partners and they in turn blackmailed and extorted him, they are scum.
Damn Charlie Sheen for making me feel guilty. I thought his TIGERBLOOD meltdown was comedy gold (and caused by drugs). Now I realize that it was just after his diagnosis. I wish he’d just admitted it at the time. Obviously he doesn’t owe the public his medical information, but I think it would have resulted in more sympathy and he wouldn’t have had to pay so much hush money.
Your comment made me remember when he went on those interview rants, and how my Dad was trying to describe it to me. He said ‘some guy’ was going nuts on TV that day. It really was comedy gold. We would imitate his ‘winning’ comment for many single words (like ‘going’ when we were leaving).
My elderly, sick parents (especially Dad), got some much-needed comic relief from Charlie at that time. I was going to blast him for his recklessness, but now I’m backing down as well.
Awww, poor guy is afraid how people will react and it makes him uncomfortable? My heart bleeds.
How many people did he knowingly infect because he was too selfish/lazy/drunk/high to care about using protection? Was he honest with all of his “goddesses”? Maybe all those hours invested in calling his ex-wives names and ignoring his kids could have better spent having honest discussions with his partners. Using the excuse of “Well, I didn’t really need to tell anyone because my viral load is undetectable” is unacceptable. I’m pretty sure his doctors weren’t telling him to ignore condoms because of this.
I refuse to feel sorry for a lowlife who has pretty much done nothing but throw temper tantrums and make life miserable for everyone around him, including his children, for the last few years in order to selfishly indulge himself and get attention.
There is nothing noble in only coming forward because you’re afraid you might get sued by people you know you might have infected. As usual, the only person he is worried about is himself.
I was sure after the interview you would get a lot of “poor guys”. Why do you think he is coming forward. His PR people are bang on. Sympathy to be directed to his family and victims. But spin spin spin…right?
I just saw it on TV, he looks healthier than I expected him to look but he sure is hemming, hawing and stuttering a lot about untruths and sub truths ..when it comes to his condition and knowingly infecting others…thou doth protest too much Charlie.
I am an adoptive mom to several children with positive HIV status. Comments here have been compassionate so far toward those carrying HIV so thank you–other sites are just awful so no more reading comments for me today–outside of here anyway. This is not going to help the stigma at all–Charlie is so unhinged and gross which is just not indicative of those with a positive status….and I cannot imagine being forced to disclose. Cannot imagine. Hope he’s taking his meds on the regular.
Best of luck to you and your family KJ. I wish you all the best.
In the 80’s I lived in Houston for a few years and worked for a hotel restaurant. Many of my co-workers were gay men who all randomly dated each other. One of them was a good friend of mine and I remember very well the image of him saying goodbye to us all because he had been diagnosed and his family had come from Michigan to bring him home. He eventually passed away and I learned years later after having moved back to NY that many of my friends from that restaurant had passed away as well. Last year a very close family member disclosed to us that he was diagnosed 10 years ago. He is doing very well with medications and sees a specialist monthly. He hasn’t had a relationship in many years and told us it was a former girlfriend who gave it to him. It was a shock to say the least but he is doing well and still works in construction putting in long hours. At his request I have not told anyone, even my husband.
Never been a fan of Charlie Sheen but I wish him well. No one deserves this. Yes his lifestyle has been off the hook, but if he knowingly passed this along it’s criminal.
I just wanted to say that you are amazing.
Growing up, my closest friend’s dad died of AIDS. I grew up in a VERY small, middle-class town and it was a complete and total shock. He was a wonderful man and his death had a profound impact on me and how I view HIV sufferers.
Those kids are very lucky to have an advocate and a strong, stable support system in you ♥
Aw, well, shucks 🙂 My kids are awesome and honestly we forget about it most of the time but stories like these really make me fear for their futures. I’m sorry about your friend’s dad and –in the 80s no one stood a chance. Our specialists are still reeling from the trauma of trying to treat HIV/AIDS at that time, and AIDS is a painful way to pass. I hope she and everyone can remember him as he was before his diagnosis. And Nicolette–kudos to you for not saying anything–once one person knows the news could spread quickly so from someone on the non-disclosure end of things great job. Seriously. He has a true friend and advocate in you.
I didn’t think he would have unprotected sex not knowing what we know today 30+ years on. But he did say there were 2 under his Drs care. It is sad he was so cute in Wall St but he has an addictive personality and is his own worse enemy. Luckily he is financially able to look after himself and now it’s not a death sentence like early 80’s. Shame on these people though extorting money from him. I am one of these people if I am told don’t tell anyone I wouldn’t.
Those people who may have contracted the disease from him– a disease he knew to have, are not extortionists. They do not have his access to healthcare and unless you can get access and are able to afford the treatment regime you will die. So yeah, I would sue his a$$$ off too. Also, outside of healthcare damages are warranted…because for some like the pr0n stars he prefers their careers are over with a positive status—treatment or no they will have to re-assess and perhaps work in a less financially lucrative profession.
A lot of spin is happening. It’s the reason he went to that horrible Matt Lauer…spin spin spin…
i predict a ton of lawsuits soon
i hope gloria allred got a good nights sleep
i feel sorry for anyone he may have infected or who was with him and is now worried about their status. normally i would say his health is his business but i think this is some sort of public health service. the girlfriends he admits he had sex with w/o protection who he says knew, id love to know what he told them/why it was ok to not use protection.
HIV is the dormancy period of this disease; Charlie was diagnosed several years ago, and is waaay past the HIV mark. Charlie is a selfish person who knowingly has AIDS, and continues to do drugs and group sex. He is a well known abuser of many people. Now that he is outed, no one has an excuse to be his victim.
HIV is not the “dormancy” period of the disease at all. People can and do live for years if not decades with HIV and never progress to full blown AIDs at all if they take their anti retrovirals and are compliant with medical care. The diagnosis of AIDs vs HIV is made based on very specific clinical criteria
Get educated, Ignorance is not bliss.My best friend has been HIV+ for 17 years.Magic Johnson has been HIV+ for over 24 years.Neither one has AIDS
HIV is not the dormancy period of AIDS, it’s a virus. AIDS is the condition brought about by the HIV virus. You can have the HIV virus all your life without getting AIDS, and many people live a long healthy life with HIV without ever developing AIDS.
When he was having his #Winning/ Tigerblood breakdown and doing all those interviews he lost like 25 if not 40 lbs within the span of weeks. When I saw him in a few of his later interviews from that period I commented to a friend that he looked like he had facial/muscle wasting that you would see with HIV positive status. Is that around the time we are thinking his symptoms made themselves known and he got diagnosed? The way he looked at that time seemed a lot more dire than just him being in a manic phase or on a drug binge.
I don’t feel sorry for him. I feel sorry for his daughters and sons, and that’s all.
Agreed.
Wasn’t he messing with Lohan at some point? She better get herself tested.
Lindsay is a bit of a Petri dish herself.