Last week, several media outlets reported that an unidentified Hollywood A-lister had been diagnosed with HIV.
Yesterday, it was widely rumored that the afflicted star was none other than famed actor and bad boy Charlie Sheen. Sheen appeared on the Today show this morning to confirm to Matt Lauer that he is indeed battling the potentially deadly illness.
In a candid and often emotional interview, Sheen described his reaction upon first learning of his condition, as well as his efforts to maintain his privacy in the wake of the bombshell diagnosis:
"I’m here to admit that I am in fact HIV-positive," Sheen said at 7:40am ET.
At this time, it does not appear that any of Charlie’s former partners have contracted the illness.
Sheen’s ex-girlfriend Bree Olson confirmed her clean bill of health on her blog last week, just as rumors of Sheen’s illness began to circulate online.
"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 about me, threatening the health of so many others, which couldn’t be further from the truth."
Discussing his wild past and the risky behavior that may have led to his current condition, Sheen had this to say:
"I’ve told enough that I trusted to be in the position and the situation that I’m in today," he said.
Sheen noticed things were off about four years ago "based on this series of cluster headaches and insane migraines and sweating the bed, completely drenched two, three nights in a row, that I was emergency hospitalized.
"I thought I had a brain tumor," Sheen continued. "I thought it was over. After a battery of tests and spinal taps, all that crap, they walked in the room and said, ‘Boom. Here’s what’s going on.’ It’s a hard three letters to absorb. It’s a turning point in one’s life.
"I think I’ve released myself from prison," Sheen said.
Sheen, 50, was married three times:
- To Donna Peele from 1995-96.
- To actress Denise Richards from 2002-06.
- To actress Brooke Mueller from 2008-11.
He ended an engagement to porn star Brett Rossi in 2014.
No matter what you think of past Sheen words or actions, let’s take a few moments here to send the actor a few well wishes.