Charlie Sheen put the rumors to rest on the blind items that have been circulating for the past week about an A-list celebrity who has the HIV virus, by revealing that he is HIV positive. Sheen said that he was diagnosed four years ago when nighttime sweats had soaked his bed, which he originally attributed to a brain tumor. A checkup revealed that he had the HIV virus.
Sheen had secretly told several people in his “inner circle” of the diagnosis, which, of course, leaked out and even led to the actor being blackmailed. “My trust turned to their treason,” Sheen said.
Sheen admitted that, on at least one occasion, he paid a prostitute who then attempted to blackmail the actor by taking pictures of his antiviral medication. The former star of Two and a Half Men also admitted that he told all of his sexual partners that he has HIV and that he has infected no one with the virus.
When asked how many people have blackmailed him, Sheen said, “I don’t want to guess wrong, but enough to bring it into the millions [of dollars].”
Today show anchor Matt Lauer noted that Sheen told him that the amount was upwards of $10 million. Sheen also was sure that lawsuits would likely follow after his revelation. “I can only imagine based on what I’ve experienced… I’m sure that’s next,” he said.
The conversation then swung towards his ex-wives, and Sheen declared that each of his exes have known about his diagnosis. The one thing that Sheen said that hurt him in the reports preceding his announcement was the notion that he had AIDS and that he was purposely spreading it. “Wow… that’s just as far from the truth than can be,” he said.
