On Monday, it was announced that legendary yet troubled actor Charlie Sheen would be appearing on the "Today" show for an exclusive interview with Matt Lauer called "Charlie Sheen Speaks Out" to share a personal announcement about his health, as HNGN previously reported. While many tabloids quickly started hearing from sources that Sheen would be announcing that he was HIV positive, it was only a matter of time before the 50-year-old "Two and a Half Men" actor would share his story with the world.
Lauer wasted no time and said to his guest that he's sure Sheen has heard all of the rumors going on, and that it was his turn to address the rumors head on. "I am here to admit that I am in fact HIV positive," Sheen revealed. "And I have to put a stop to this onslaught, this barrage of attacks and of sub-truths and very harmful and mercurial stories that are threatening the health of so many others, which couldn't be farther from the truth."
When asked how many people he has told, Sheen said that he only told those he thought he could trust with information as serious as this. Lauer then asked how long Sheen has known about his diagnosis, which is a question that has been on everyone's mind as some headlines read a year, and some read several.
"Roughly four years ago," Sheen said. "It started with what I thought, based on a series of cluster headaches and insane migraines and sweating the bed completely drenched...I thought I had a brain tumor, I thought it was over." After a series of tests, doctors finally revealed to Sheen what was going on. "It's a hard three letters to absorb," he admitted. "It's a turning point in one's life."
Keeping a secret as huge as this one has not been easy for Sheen. He has been betrayed by those he loves, and there have even been several people who have demanded money from the popular actor as their vow to stay silent. While the actor would not say how many people he has had to pay over the years to keep his secret, he did say that it happened. "Enough to bring it into the millions [of dollars]," he revealed. "What people forget is that's money they're taking from my children. They think it's just me, but I have five kids and a grandkid."
Sheen talked about the number of people who had started to blackmail him, and of the several prostitutes with whom he had had protected sex - prostitutes who wanted to tell people about his condition and continued to betray him. What Lauer wanted to know was if these people that were threatening him were infected by Sheen and found out that way, or if they had just heard the rumors and were threatening to tell the world his secret.
"More the latter," Sheen said. "For some reason I trusted them. They were deep in my inner circle, and I thought they could be helpful...and my trust turned to their treason."
There was even one prostitute who took a photo of his HIV medication in his bathroom and threatened to sell it to the tabloids. After today, he does not plan to pay his blackmailers anymore. He said he believes that speaking his truth means he'll get out from under that.
"That's my goal," he told Lauer. "I think I released myself from this prison today."
Lauer then went on to ask Sheen a series of very serious questions, wanting honest answers, and that's exactly what it appeared Sheen gave him. The "Platoon" and "Wall Street" actor admitted that it was completely his fault that he continued his wild behavior even after he had found out he was HIV positive. Sheen confessed that he was depressed from the condition he was in and that he had been taking a lot of drugs and drinking a lot. "I was making really bad decisions," he said. "That part I own. One hundred percent."
Sheen then explained that it is "impossible" that he could have transmitted the virus to someone else since his diagnosis and that, yes, he has had unprotected sex since he was diagnosed, but only with two people who were under the care of his doctor and had been completely warned ahead of time. Sheen claimed he does not know exactly how he got the virus, but he said he has told every single one of his partners before having sex with them that he was HIV positive. "No exception," he said.
Sheen said he agreed to this interview because he wants to help other people who might be going through the same thing, so they too can share their story with the world and try to stop this virus from spreading further than it already has. "And hopefully with what we're doing today," Sheen continued, "others may come forward and say, 'Thanks Charlie. Thanks for kicking the door open.'"
