After weeks of speculation, Charlie Sheen finally admitted that he is indeed HIV+. He told Matt Lauer on Today that he received the diagnosis around 4 years ago, on the heels of his infamous 2011 meltdown.
The actor revealed that back then, he had been suffering from crushing headaches and after several days of sweating uncontrollably in his bed, he went to the hospital. After several tests, doctors gave him the news that forever changed his life. Finding out that he was HIV+ led him into a descent of “profound substance abuse and fathomless drinking.”
He also says that since he learned he had HIV, he has still hired prostitutes. Sheen claims that he told them of his status and wore condoms when he was with them. He also told Lauer that one of those women went into his bathroom, took a photo of his medicine bottle and threatened to blackmail him with it.
Blackmail seems to be the reason why he is coming out now after all of this time. There were two reports in the last several weeks, claiming an A List actor had HIV. Many speculated it was him and yesterday National Enquirer outed him. Just as they broke the news, Today announced that they were having him on the show.
Sheen told Lauer that he has paid off several people. The sum for the alleged hush money, he says is around 10 million dollars. He explained that he doesn’t care if they take the money from him, but they are taking it from his 5 children and 1 grandchild.
When it comes to recent rumors that he had unprotected sex with women and did not tell them of his status, he denies that. He admitted to having unprotected sex with two women, and those two women knew that he was positve and were under the care of his doctor.
Does he know how he got it? He says that he is not really sure, but denied using intravenous drugs.
But it his drug use that has doctors worried about him. His doctor, Robert Huizenga, told Lauer he fears that if Charlie is on them, he will forget to take one of his 4 daily pills. If he does forget a pill, it can change how he reacts to the Cocktail and can change how healthy he currently is with the Virus. The doctor also told Lauer that there is very little chance of him transmitting HIV, if he has protected sex.
And that is where my problem with him lies. I have been doing AIDS Advocacy since I was a teenager, and I can’t believe that he has says that he has knowingly had unprotected sex since he knew he was HIV+. It is just something I can’t comprehend. I really can’t even express my feelings about that revelation from him.
But I need to also look at the positiveness that could come out of all of this. In recent years, AIDS and HIV is barely talked about like it has been in the decades past. There is a younger generation growing up, not knowing how this could be easily prevented. I mean, it is not 100% effective, but condoms do help. That is why I suggest that every single person has a box readily available and make sure that the rubbers are not expired. I also suggest that if you are going to have sex with someone new, both of you should get tested before you do it. It is good to know what both of you are bringing to the party.
Hopefully, schools will be talking to their students about this today and until there is a cure. Yes, there is the cocktail, but it is not cheap and can lose its effectiveness with a missed dose.
Back to Sheen, it is good that he came finally clean with his diagnosis and let’s hope he does some good with it. You can tell by his stuttering, throughout the 20 minute combined interview, this was not easy for him to do. I don’t think we’ve ever seen him as nervous as we did today. If I could give him a hug, I would. I know he needs one.
When it comes to his career, I highly doubt it is over. Look at everything he has done since he was teenager, and we have forgiven him. I don’t think we will stop now. As much as we want to hate him, we can’t. We really want to, but we can’t.
What do you think of all of this?
To read the letter that he gave to Matt Lauer yesterday, then
An Open Letter from Charlie Sheen:
Roughly four years ago, I suddenly found myself in the throws of a seismic and debilitating three-day cluster-migraine like headache. I was emergently hospitalized with what I believed to be a brain tumor or perhaps some unknown pathology. I was partially correct. Following a battery of endless tests, that included a hideous spinal tap, it was sadly and shockingly revealed to me that I was, in fact, positive for HIV.
The news was a ‘mule kick’ to my soul. Those impossible words I absorbed and then tried to convince myself, that I was stuck, suspended, or even stranded inside some kind of alternate reality or nightmare, were to the absolute contrary. I was awake. It was true… reality.
Under the brilliant and perfect care of Dr. Robert Huizenga as well as “the” leading infectious disease expert in the known universe, I began a rigorous and intensive treatment program. Not missing a beat, a med dose, or one shred of guidance, quickly my viral loads became undetectable. Like every other challenge in my life, again, I was victorious and kicking this disease’s ass. I wish my story had ended there. Unfortunately, for my family and myself, it had only just begun.
The personal disbelief, karmic confusion, shame and anger lead to a temporary yet abysmal decent into profound substance abuse and fathomless drinking. It was a suicide run. Problem was, I’d forgotten that I’m too tough for such a cowardly departure. Yet, despite this loathsome and horrific odyssey, I was vigilant with my anti-viral program.
My medical team could only shake their heads as each and every blood test returned levels revealing a state of remission. Even though I might have been trying to kill myself, one thing was radically evident; the disease was not.
In and around this perplexing and difficult time, I dazedly chose (or hired) the companionship of unsavory and insipid types. Regardless of their salt-less reputations, I always lead with condoms and honesty when it came to my condition. Sadly, my truth soon became their treason, as a deluge of blackmail and extortion took center stage in this circus of deceit.
To date, I have paid out countless millions to these desperate charlatans.
Locked in a vacuum of fear, I chose to allow their threats and skullduggery to vastly deplete future assets from my children, while my “secret” sat entombed in their hives of folly. (or so I thought)
News Flash: This ends today. I’m claiming back my freedom. The scales of justice will swiftly and righteously rebalance themselves.
In conclusion, I accept this condition not as a curse or scourge, but rather as an opportunity and a challenge. An opportunity to help others. A challenge to better myself.
Every day, of every month, of every year, countless individuals go to work, man their stations, fulfill their professional obligations with a host of disabilities. Diseases, imperfections, hurdles, detours. These maladies range from Lupus to Cancer, from paralysis to blindness, from Diabetes to Obesity. “Treated,” HIV is no different.
My partying days are behind me. My philanthropic days are ahead of me.
Earnest Hemingway once wrote:
“Courage is grace under pressure.”
I’ve served my time under pressure; I now embrace the courage, and the grace.
Love and Peace,
Charlie Sheen
