The actor said he has been the victim of extortion and blackmail for years.
By Sreejith Vallikunnu
Finally, American TV actor Charlie Sheen has revealed that he is HIV-positive in a television interview with NBC’s Today show on Tuesday.
The former ‘Two and a Half Men’ star said he has been the victim of extortion and blackmail for years by people who knew about his health condition.
The 50-year-old actor said that in one case of extortion, a sex worker took a picture of his antiretroviral medication and threatened to sell it for tabloids. He even paid out $10 million to a woman who blackmailed him.
“I am here to admit that I am in fact HIV positive. It’s a hard three letters to absorb. It’s a turning point in one’s life,” Sheen said.
“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 that couldn’t be further from the truth,” he added.
“What people forget is that that’s money they’re taking from my children,” he said about the “shakedowns” he has experienced. “I trusted them and they were deep in my inner circle, and I thought they could be helpful. My trust turned to their treason.”
“I release myself from this prison today,” the actor added.
Sheen told anchor Matt Lauer on the show that he paid out millions for people to keep the illness a secret. Even though he doesn’t know how he contracted HIV, he is confident that there were no chances he transmitted the disease to anyone else.
He had been diagnosed with the HIV virus four years ago when he had been to a hospital after suffering a terrible headache.
One of the highest paid actors on television, Charlie Sheen rose to fame after a series of successful films such as ‘Platoon’ (1986), ‘Wall Street’, ‘Young Guns’ , ‘Eight Men Out’ , ‘Major League’ , ‘Hot Shots!’ and ‘The Three Musketeers’ (1993).
In the 2000s, Sheen became best known for his television roles. He replaced Michael J. Fox in ‘Spin City’ and his performance earned him a Golden Globe Award for best actor – television series musical or comedy. Later, he starred in ‘Two and a Half Men’, which earned him several Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominations.
Meanwhile, his personal life has made headlines for many bad reasons including reports of alcohol and drug abuse, marital problems and allegations of domestic violence.